Image inside the bus I taken recently.
Not every people could buy their own car and even if they do, not everyone would want to use them all the time due to the price of fuel that has continued to rise due to world events and inflation together with various expenses they need to maintain their cars. So for most of us, having public transport was a godsend because it allows for a large number of people to reach their destination by paying less. That said, as we ride on this public transport we got to experience different things as there were other people besides us that also ride this vehicles at the same time, mostly were a complete stranger to us and for this post, I got to tell the story of the time when we got stranded on the express way as the bus that were riding got an engine failure.
This story took place December 27th of 2018. I was at my 4th year of college and was completing my OJT period. It was holiday season past Christmas and Post New Year and the streets were decorated with colorful lights and decorations so might ask why instead of relaxing during this period, I decided to spend my time on OJT. The reason behind this was because our school impose a difficult task for us which is to attend school while working on our thesis and OJT, eating most of our time so in order to lessen the burden for me I choose to spend my holiday vacation on my OJT, including Christmas and New Year.
Me during my College years, riding on bus.
I live in the province while my school and OJT was both on the city so in order to travel back home, I need to ride on a public bus and it would take at least an hour for me to reach my stopping point where I rode Tricycle once again to finally reached my home but due to the holiday rush, there was a large flow of people everywhere going to malls and other stablishes so when I arrive at the bus terminal, there was a long line of passengers waiting to ride the bus. This takes me for about an hour of waiting time before I was finally able to ride the bus and luckily, I was able to have a seat. Other passengers that really wants to go home as fast as possible would need to stand in order to ride the bus. Thankfully, the bus was air- conditioned so it was not hot despite the bus being fully loaded.
Our ride begins without any problems and we successfully reached the express way that the bus used as shortcut to be able to travel faster back and forth but around 15 minutes on the route, the air that the air- condition blows has started to become hot and smells like a burned rubber then a few moments later, it becomes really hard to breathe so the bus driver has decided to stopped the bus to check the engine. After taking a look they told us that they cannot fix the bus and immediately calls to the person in charge to report their situation so we expect that an empty bus will go and pick us up. After all, everyone of us already paid the fair but no! That's not what happened.
screenshot image from Google map
After 20 minutes or so of waiting, a bus from the same company stops next to our bus to onboard people but it was already fully seated with a few passengers also standing so among us passengers that was stranded, only around 10 people were able to get in and they were all composed of senior citizens and PWD's which obviously takes priority over us due to their age and condition and this also goes for the 2nd and 3rd bus which comes with 25- 30 minutes time difference.
After the 3rd bus came, 40 minutes has passed and still, no bus has yet to come and knowing that even if another bus was to come so we asked the the driver on why and he told us that there are currently no bus left in the terminal and do not know when the next one will come due to the traffic starting to build on some routes as the evening rush hour started to kick in. Knowing of this and the fact that only a portion of us will be able to get in the bus, some passengers already lose their patience and started to just walk. I can't blame them because as we are on an express way, other bus companies or public transport are prohibited to load and unload passengers here so unless we wait, walking is the only option that is left for us.
By the time that the 4th bus has came, it already takes more than 1 hour and 20 minutes from the time that the last bus has came and since there were no seniors or PWD to consider, it was a first come, first serve on whose passenger will be able to get in. It has become like a brawl and I fought my way real hard so I was able to get in on the bus. Overall, it took more than 3 and 30 mins for me to reach my stopping point and another 20 minutes by tricycle ride to finally reach my house.
To be stranded on the express way for a long time was really an unforgettable experience for me. Though we do not have the idea of the reason why the bus we ride got broken, we know that when something smells burning, it could lead to fire and luckily, before such things happen, the driver has decided to stop the bus so at the very least, all the passengers have arrive at their respective homes safe. I also do not know whether it was decided by the driver of by the person he was talking to the phone but I give them some credit for letting the seniors and people with disabilities to ride first. Despite the experience, I still, prefer to ride public transport and until now was riding them. In fact, I still ride on the same bus as you can see that the chair covers on the image that I take recently was just the same on the bus I ride when I was still in college.
That was all for me. Thank you and see you at the next one.
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