Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Commuter Rage

I don't think I'll ever be lacking in stories (especially the stories from commuter hell) to tell when it comes to public transport and commuting.

On the fx ride on the way home, I gave 50 pesos for the fare (the fare is 35 pesos). The driver was kind of rude and was telling off a couple for giving 500 pesos; he said he didn't have barya. I let him bitch for a few minutes before I asked, politely, for my change. (I was a bit moody already because the guy seating next me is an annoying asshat who needs to be thrown out of the window and into speeding motorists because he has a bad smell and snores and sits with his legs wide open and occupies too much space)

The driver then turned to me and said rudely, "O, eto singkwenta mo, bigyan mo ako ng thirty-five", and was about to launch into another tirade about how he doesn't have any change (seriously? it's a public transport. drivers should have at least some loose change for 50 freakin' pesos) when I cut him with, "magbibigay ba ako ng fifty kung may thirty five ako?".

I said it matter-of-fact-ly - not irritably, not antagonistically. But the reaction was swift - the driver shut up AND one of the passengers immediately reply, "eto, miss, baryahan ko yung fifty".

I didn't mean to be mataray, but on second thought, the driver probably deserves it.

How about you? What's your best (worst?) commuter story?

3 comments:

k a r e n said...

oh geez.. don't even get me started on my commuter rants.. i have so many that i have to stop myself from creating a separate blog purely for commuter rants.

just this morning i was a bit peeved off with the bus driver.. i noticed he was driving at 10kph so i looked at the fron tof the bus to see if there was anything wrong on the road.. there was absolutely nothing wrong.. the only reason he was driving so slow was bec he was too busy chatting on his cellphone.

also this morning on the subway, i was preparing to get off my stop so i stood near the door, holding on to the pole so that i wouldn't fall when the train stops. when it finally stopped, this woman decides that it is totally ok to walk through my extended arm so that she can get off the train first. ang sarap talaga batukan.

ngayon lang yan ha.. imagine all the different things i encounter on a day-to-day basis just commuting to and from work. kaya naman namumuti ang buhok ko eh!

Jela said...

Nyay! Akala ko sa Pinas lang ang mga pasaway na drivers at pasahero!

That woman is just an ass - and might just be the alter ego ng isang pasahero ngayon. There's a line in the fx terminal and nasa likod ko siya but she tried to overtake me! The hell?! Kaya nga may pila di ba?! And would it kill you to let me get in first since kasunod lang naman kita?!!

Ang nakakainis dito, these people are supposed to be professionals (I assume since lahat kami sa Makati bumababa) and you expect that they have more sense and breeding than that. KAINIS!

I see what you mean about creating a blog for commuter rants. :D I'm not stopping you, in fact, I might contribute as well. Hahaha!

k a r e n said...

Hahaha! Goodness, ako din nagtataka why people who are so sharply dressed turn out to have really bad manners! Mabuti pako, simpleng jeans and shirt lang pero mabait..hahahah! kidding!

Seriously though, I sometimes have to stop myself from saying something rude.. nakakainis kasi talaga minsan yung mga tao.