University of Basel

Recalibrating Rhythm: Commuters Navigating Manila Through the Point-to-Point Bus

Author: Supervisor: Carla Michelle Cruz Dr Sophie Oldfield

Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MA Critical Urbanisms in the Department of Urban Studies

1 Oct 2020

2 Abstract

Commuting on public transport in Manila is difficult and tiring, an arduous essential task for ordinary urbanites. As a megacity in Asia, Metro Manila suffers from ‘the many ills of excessive street traffic’ (Boquet 2013, 45). The metropolis ranked second in the TomTom traffic index for 2019 for the worst urban congestion worldwide (2019). According to this ranking, Manila’s standing is calculated to be at seventy-one per cent congestion, which has made commuting worse. In fact, it has been estimated that the Philippines loses 3.5 billion pesos a day due to Metro Manila traffic alone (CNN-Philippines 2018). And while the current administration’s Build Build Build infrastructure program aims to decongest the roads in the future through the building of a subway (Camus 2019), it remains an inimitable fact that a large population of people are left commuting via public transportation or by way of privately owned vehicles. To address this crisis the government has built the point-to-point (P2P) bus system as part of the country’s public utility bus modernization program (DOTr Latest News 2016) to alleviate some of Metro Manila’s traffic and commuting issues between key areas of the megacity. In this thesis, I explore the rhythms and challenges of commuting on public transport, engaging the ways in which the P2P bus has reshaped the commuting experience. In this research I explore how the P2P bus is experienced by commuters, investigating how it recalibrates their rhythms, the time they spend commuting, their pace and conditions of travel, their emotions and their manners of moving through the city. I evaluate the various realities of commuting life, the hard work that comes with the everyday grind of the commute and the difference that the P2P bus makes in the commuter’s everyday lives by reshaping their rhythms. From Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis I draw three types of rhythms to frame the discussion, namely, eurythmia, linear rhythms and polyrythmia, in order to make sense of precisely how the P2P bus’ intervention reshapes and recalibrates the commuter’s experiences and rhythms. Therefore I argue that the commuter as a figure of mobility, and particular to this study, the figure of the Manila commuter, has a crucial role to play in the transformation of urban life. He or she is the mobile figure who has to withstand the erratic, often tangled nature of commuting life in this city, and therefore his or her experiences are unique and significant as these experiences of commuting are undeniably an extraordinary, unique kind of lived experience (Salazar 2017). Commuting in Manila as I have demonstrated in this thesis is a trying, but also changing, experience. Commuting as a form of mobility is constitutive of modern urban life. Though differentiated in the lived experiences practiced and produced in each place, it is a critical activity that shapes everyday lives and forms of mobility, a practice and dynamic that shapes cities across the world.

3 Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the people I’ve had the pleasure of connecting and reconnecting with in my research, who shared a bit of their time to sit down with me and talk about their commuting narratives. Some were strangers, some were friends, some were old school mates— coming together to talk to me about relatable experiences on the P2P bus and the adventure that is commuting in Manila. To be able to write about my home city, and thereby listen to stories about mobility and movement especially in the strange, difficult times of 2020, has ultimately become my way of reinforcing my ties to home and hoping that the coronavirus situation soon changes for the better and allows everyone once more to be mobile. I thank my parents for being very supportive all throughout my graduate studies. I thank my advisers, Sophie and Laura, who were encouraging and reassuring of this topic in the first place, and who introduced me to the studies of mobilities and other interesting niches in research while in Cape Town. I thank peers and faculty in the Critical Urbanisms program at the University of Basel with whom I’ve shared, through thick and thin, this research journey since 2018. I thank my loved ones and friends from here in Switzerland and all over the world, whose support was very much a blessing, and I thank God for giving me the fortitude throughout my endeavour to carry on with my master’s.

4 Table of Contents Abstract ...... 3 Acknowledgments ...... 4 List of Figures ...... 6 Introduction ...... 8 The trying commute in Metro Manila ...... 13 Commuting by the commuter and the role of rhythm: relevant research ...... 17 Commuting as a form of mobility ...... 17 The commuting experience as shaped by infrastructure ...... 18 The commuter: a figure of mobility ...... 19 Rhythm as instrument to understand the commuter ...... 20 Summary and Conclusion ...... 23 The Point-to-Point Bus, an intervention in commuting ...... 25 Analytical design ...... 26 Methods to inform the research ...... 27 Storying the commuter’s experiences ...... 28 The commuter meets the city ...... 32 ‘Forget the rhythm’: the chaotic challenge of the Manila commuting scene ...... 36 The hassle of the commute: the hard work of commuting in Manila ...... 36 ‘It’s really the time that eats you up’: feeling traffic through immobility and time ... 40 ‘Like how usual commuters do’: evading the persistent perils of commuting ...... 41 ‘On time, scheduled… I can sleep’: the intervention of the P2P bus ...... 43 Permission to relax: shifting patterns of awareness on the P2P bus ...... 43 ‘We share the same agony’: commuters shaping social rhythms on the P2P bus ...... 51 Recalibrating commuter rhythms ...... 55 ‘I think you move differently, when you know your rhythm’: reflections of the commuter ...... 58 Discussion ...... 60 The analysis of rhythms ...... 60 Achieving eurhythmia with the intervention of the P2P bus ...... 60 Linearising commuting rhythms ...... 61 Engaging polyrhythms: coexisting rhythms ...... 62 Conclusion ...... 64 Bibliography ...... 67 Appendix: Interview Transcripts ...... 72

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List of Figures

Figure 1. An afternoon commute on the P2P bus on the way to Makati. Photo taken by author in January 2020...... 7 Figure 2. View of EDSA, Metro Manila’s main road artery, from the Skyway while riding the P2P bus on the way to Makati. Taken by the author in January 2020...... 12 Figure 3. Photo showing the queue for the jeepneys after work in Makati. Taken by the author in January 2020...... 14 Figure 4. The ATC-Greenbelt P2P bus at Greenbelt. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 24 Figure 5. Available P2P routes as of January 2020. The main interest of this research is the ATC-Greenbelt 1 route. (Source: Philippine Primer, Vol. 46, Jan 2020) ...... 24 Figure 6. Stepping off the bus, my interviewees describe a shift in how they carry themselves and how they move. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 31 Figure 7. An intersection in Metro Manila at around 6:30am, taken from inside the P2P bus. One might spot pedestrians on an overpass, jeepneys awaiting passengers by the side of the road, cars crossing the intersection, and the gradual build-up of traffic. In the distance is the Laguna de Bay. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 35 Figure 8. A photo of evening traffic in the rain. Traffic is one of the constitutive elements of Manila urban life, and one of the main challenges in mobility, as it takes hours and hours sometimes just to get somewhere. Photo taken by the author in February 2020 during an evening commute on the P2P bus...... 39 Figure 9. Waiting to depart inside the bus very early in the morning. In the morning, the bus, aside from the terminal, is the literal beacon of light. Photo taken by author in January 2020...... 44 Figure 10. The Alabang Town Center bus terminal for the P2P buses...... 44 Figure 11. Disembarking from the P2P bus. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 48 Figure 12. A photo of the queue for the P2P bus taken at around six pm. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 48 Figure 13. Passengers on the bus from Makati to Alabang. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 50 Figure 14. P2P commuters waiting in line for the evening ride. This photo was selected to convey a sort of rush and movement as commuters line up while others, perhaps commuters themselves, rush by, move, etc. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 54 Figure 15. The commuter, the bus, the city. Photo taken by the author in January 2020...... 66

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Figure 1. An afternoon commute on the P2P bus on the way to Makati. Photo taken by author in January 2020.

7 Introduction

“Standing on the edges of jeepneys, “toploading1” on provincial buses, cramming in tricycles, squeezing in the rear seats of a “UV Express2”: Such have always been the norm for many Filipino commuters that we don’t question it… It is not okay for people to stand inside buses—or on the edges of jeepneys—just to go to work. It is not okay for people to queue for long hours just to go home, for women to experience harassment, or for PWDs 3 and senior citizens to endure stressful, strenuous effort just to reach transport vehicles.” (Lasco 2018)

This opinion piece was published in a prominent Philippine newspaper online, aptly titled, “Filipinos deserve quality public transport.” Commuting on public transport in Manila is difficult and tiring, an arduous essential task for ordinary urbanites. As a megacity in Asia, Metro Manila suffers from ‘the many ills of excessive street traffic…the joint processes of globalization, outsourcing, and the relocalisation of manufacturing activities have been accompanied by a rise in the purchasing powers of many people… which has allowed them to acquire motorised vehicles, motorbikes and automobiles, even if profound inequalities exist in regard to the capacity to acquire a vehicle’ (Boquet 2013, 45). Metro Manila’s traffic situation has been recently described as “Carmageddon” in popular media, a clear reference to Armageddon, ‘the biblical place where good and evil are destined to have their battle’ (Santos 2019) and the metropolis ranked second in the TomTom traffic index for 2019 for the worst urban congestion worldwide (2019). According to this ranking, Manila’s standing is calculated to be at seventy-one per cent congestion4. In fact, it has been estimated that the Philippines loses 3.5 billion pesos a day du e to Metro Manila traffic alone (CNN-Philippines 2018). And while plans are laid out for a Metro Manila Subway Project in line with the current administration’s Build Build Build infrastructure program as one of the means to decongest the roads in the future (Camus 2019), it remains an inimitable fact that a large population of people rely on road infrastructure, be it via public transportation or by way of privately owned vehicles.

One of the ways to address this crisis was the government’s implementation of the point- to-point (P2P) bus system as part of the country’s public utility bus modernization program (DOTr Latest News 2016) as an intervention to alleviate some of Metro Manila’s traffic and commuting issues between key areas of the megacity. To engage the ways in which the P2P bus has reshaped the commuting experience, in this research I explore the ways in which the P2P bus is experienced by the commuters, investigating how it recalibrates their rhythms, i.e. their times, their pace, their emotions and their manners of moving. I evaluate the various realities of commuting life, the hard work that comes with the everyday grind of the commute and the difference that the P2P bus makes in the commuter’s everyday lives by reshaping their rhythms.

1 “Toploading” refers to people riding literally on top of the vehicle in question. 2 UV Express vehicles are utility vehicles (vans, usually) used for transport which travel between two or three points with several stops (to the discretion of the passenger) along the way. 3 Persons with disabilities. 4 Based on TomTom’s formula, a thirty-minute trip will take seventy-one per cent more time than it would when roads remain uncongested; this translates to approximately fifty-two minutes of total travel time of what would otherwise have been half an hour’s journey.

8 This is the focus of the thesis. This study therefore investigates the P2P bus as an intervention that addresses some of the difficulties of commuting in Manila and changes the experience of commuting and simultaneously recalibrates commuter rhythms. In order to do so, I use the figure of the commuter to understand precisely how the recalibration happens and what exactly is the impact that is felt by the commuter with the P2P bus intervening in his or her commute. Two essential features make the P2P bus a distinct form of transport infrastructure in the city: first, at one route at a time, two nodes spatially disjunct in the city are linked by this system and is thus typically a direct connection without any (in)formal stops along the route; second, there is a schedule of bus departures with a generally fixed time interval. The concept of a time schedule and complementary fixed stops, both fairly peculiar features to be combined in one system in the context of daily commutes in Manila, was (and is) an attractive attribute of the P2P bus. These features are thus critical to the commuter who takes the bus; in a city where the everyday commute has more uncertainties than necessary, the P2P bus offers a small but significant shift to certainty. Thus I explore this transition from commuting without the P2P bus to using the P2P bus in various points of their commute, considering the ways in which the P2P bus offers the space to readjust personal commuting rhythms accordingly.

I situate my research within Metro Manila, a megacity context in the global South, a site where interventions in mobility such as the P2P bus explicitly attempt to address the challenges of commuting, to recalibrate the commuter’s experiences and commuting rhythms that are continuously shaped and reshaped by the intervention of the P2P bus. There is a critical need to understanding the commuter and his or her experience because it is through the commuter— what he feels, what he encounters, what he produces—'that mobility is experienced’ (Creswell 2006, 58), and it is at his bodily scale that we are able to closely assess and make sense of the impact that mediations such as the P2P bus have on everyday commuting life. In this way it is through the commuter, a figure of mobility, that we are able to understand the commuting experience, the work that must be done in commuting and the affect of interventions on this experience. To do this I build on a rich body of literature focused on the commuting experience in Metro Manila. Metro Manila lags behind urban mobility when compared to other cities (A. C. Mijares 2015, 1), and commuters, who are made to weather through encounters with heat, pollution, unreliable public infrastructure, traffic, monsoon flooding and safety risks such as petty crimes and harassment, have grown accustomed to a situation where the challenges of moving from place to place within the city is perceived as ‘normal everyday occurrences which they just have to be patient with and need to factor in their daily commutes’ (Castro and Josef 2020). These commuters are then applauded for being resilient to these hardships; however, rarely have any recent developments in the commuting system in the city ever arisen to alleviate them of the challenges of the commute, so much so that the situation has only been exacerbated instead of truly addressed.

Then I draw on a rich body of literature on mobility, commuting, and the mobilities turn (Sheller and Urry 2006, Adey, Bissell and Hannam, et al. 2014), which engages with questions of value that reside in a renewed focus on ‘recognising what actually happens between A and B’ (Middleton 2011, 98) and reconsidering research subjects as shifting, morphing and mobile (Sheller and Urry 2006). I also draw from work around infrastructure as a constitutive element of urban life. As Spinney writes, ‘designed to embody particular actions, material ‘things’ lend

9 themselves to being practiced in a certain way’ (2010, 116), and in this case I use this to evaluate the role of the P2P bus as a mediating infrastructure in shaping commuting rhythms. I build then on literature on rhythms as a means to understand how it shapes mobility and the mobile figure. There has been much interest in rhythm as an analytical or investigative concept (Edensor 2010, Elden 2004, Jiron 2010) to tackle the embodied practices of everyday life since Lefebvre’s work on rhythmanalysis (2013). Edensor’s study on walking rhythms shows how a daily bodily activity ‘produces time-space and experience of place’ and how it ‘is inevitably conditioned by multiple forms of regulation but possesses peculiar characteristics’ that ultimately make these experiences singular and unique (Edensor 2010, 69). Chen’s work on walking in London’s East End that also uses rhythmanalysis as the research tool to determine walking rhythms and other rhythms present in East London (Chen 2013) demonstrates that by exploring everyday practices through rhythmanalysis, i.e., ‘channelling…our attention to bodily movement’ (Chen 2013, 549), we inevitably encounter different ‘rhythms which infiltrate and resist each other’ (Chen 2013, 549) and ultimately influence other facets of everyday life. Thus it is worth noting that research on commuters as a key mobile figure, a ‘representation of a lived experience of a particular kind’ (Salazar 2017, 8), and understanding them in terms of their everyday mobilities and rhythms have yet to be more widely discussed, given the multitudes of ways in which people move across various cities of the world. ‘Little is known about how commuting is transforming urban life’ (Bissell 2018) and still less is known about the commuter and his experiences in navigating the everyday commute.

After discussing the literature, I begin my empirical study by introducing a short chapter on the P2P bus as an intervention in commuting in Metro Manila, its background and growing role in the overall commuting scene in the city. I then rationalise the main choice of route undertaken in this study, wherein the route in question—the Alabang-Greenbelt 1 route— connects residents from the south of Metro Manila to one of the largest central business districts, Makati, to which multitudes of commuters travel every day for work. In the chapter that follows I lay out my methods for research, focusing primarily on using commuters’ narratives and participant observation where I become a commuter myself on the P2P bus. Central to my work are the conversations I have had with seven interviewees who are frequent travellers on the P2P bus. By storying their experiences, I am not only able to empirically make sense of what they encounter day by day and how their rhythms are ultimately recalibrated, but these stories also account for the importance and need to place the commuter figure at the forefront of conversations that ultimately shape policies around transport and mobility, and take their role in the transformation of urban life seriously, especially in cities like Metro Manila where such issues are tremendous. In the following chapter, I describe the interfacing rhythms of the commuter and the city and how their rhythms collide and coexist. In the next chapter I then look at the chaotic challenge of the commute in Metro Manila as told through stories by my interviewees. Afterwards in the following chapter I explore the intervention of the P2P bus and how it has been experienced in terms of time, space, and affect. In the next chapter, I examine how commuters’ rhythms have been recalibrated, sometimes even beyond their commute on the P2P bus, precisely because of this intervention. Bringing all this together, I dedicate a chapter to the discussion of these narratives and analysing them through the lens of rhythmanalysis. Through this I end with a conclusion and recommendations, reflecting on various realities of commuting life in Metro Manila and arguing that the everyday grind of the

10 commute comes with hard work, and that the difference that the P2P makes as an intervention is critical in inciting the recalibration of the commuter’s rhythms in his or her everyday life.

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Figure 2. View of EDSA, Metro Manila’s main road artery, from the Skyway while riding the P2P bus on the way to Makati. Taken by the author in January 2020.

12 The trying commute in Metro Manila

A bus ride in Metro Manila usually entails standing in a cramped bus enduring traffic for hours on the way home, and a trip on the MRT may connote an unbelievable queue just to get to the platform of the train station everyday—not to mention growing delays due to trains breaking down on a regular basis (Mijares, Suzuki and Yai 2016). To commute means having to wake up at the break of dawn to get to work on time, in an attempt to avoid the traffic— both with regard to cars on the road and people in lines—that aggressively intensifies each morning. Stress builds in commuters (Tenorio, et al. 2018). In thirty degrees Celsius heat and smog, commuting can be physically draining for the commuter; it is common to catch sight of people clutching handkerchiefs in Manila, in order to wipe away sweat building on one’s forehead or to cover one’s mouth whilst riding the jeep or waiting to flag down the next one by the roadside. In the monsoon season, many confront the encounter with rain and, on worse occasions, floods. It is equally mentally exhausting: always having to be alert in the event of a petty crime, and thus never resting, bags kept tightly in one’s arms or looking inconspicuous enough not to catch attention, and above all, in the literal sense, learning to become street- smart. There is normally no straight—or easy—way to shuffle around the metropolis. Most jeepneys, tricycles, buses, etc. make stops almost everywhere they are requested to along the unfixed route, and there are hardly any official connections and transfers. Usually, the entire length of the road is a series of stops. Other means to get around include taking a Grab5 ride or a taxi, but this is normally beyond the daily spending means of the average Filipino. Pedestrian bridges, lengths of them spanning across wide roads and highways, are crossed by numbers of people in good or inclement weather. Inadequately lit sidewalks—starting, and then disappearing, or never there in the first place—are but a feeble accessory to the commute. Commuting is usually unpleasant, if not trying.

In Metro Manila6, an assemblage of sixteen cities of nearly twelve million people7, the ways by which its inhabitants traverse the city via public transportation—much of which are privately owned (JICA and NEDA 2014, 2-7)—include but are not limited to the following: the Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT); the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT); jeepneys; utility vans more popularly known as UV Express vehicles; tricycles; buses, etc. Other means of transport, in the case of Transport Network Vehicle Services, also exist and include taxis, Grab (a car hailing and ride sharing service), Angkas (a motorcycle ride sharing and delivery service), etc. As of a 2014 study, jeepneys account for more than fifty per cent of daily commuting trips (JICA and NEDA 2014, 2-7); moreover, the same study found that ‘seventy-one per cent of trips rely on buses and jeepneys at present while thirty per cent will continue to rely on them in 2030’ (2014, 5-6). This being said, ‘Manila’s urban transport infrastructure is hardly adequate to cope with the current population’ (Ramizo Jr 2019, 155). Metro Manila lags behind urban mobility when compared to other cities, ranking sixty-fourth out of sixty-six in a study on urban mobility (A. C. Mijares 2015, 1).

5 A Grab is a ride-hailing and sharing car service prolific in Southeast Asia, since the pulling out of Uber in the region. 6 Metro Manila in this study will refer to the National Capital region comprising of sixteen cities, and not only the municipality of Manila. As such, the use of Manila and Metro Manila will be interchangeable in this text, unless otherwise noted. 7 12,877,253 people, according to the 2015 Census (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2015).

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Figure 3. Photo showing the queue for the jeepneys after work in Makati. Taken by the author in January 2020.

14 ‘Transportation…is an integral part of everyday human life’ (Replogle M. 2012), and it is very much the case in Metro Manila. Various studies done around Manila’s challenges in commuting have been conducted around its physical and mental impacts on its commuters (Tenorio, et al. 2018, Mijares, Suzuki and Yai 2016, Abad, Schwanen and Fillone 2020), as well as research that looks into the development and application of travel mode choices to ultimately reduce car use and traffic in Manila and thus influence policy-making (Rith, Fillone and Biona 2019). Much of the studies available currently approach this topic from intersecting disciplines such as psychology, transport planning, engineering, urban planning and the like, revealing the research interest in these fields and the significant weight of the situation commuters face in Manila that warrants such attention. Yet, the amount of literature available to qualitatively understand and therefore contribute to the literature on Manila commuting as a lived experience from a mobility studies and urban studies point of view is still minimal.

‘Many rapidly growing cities around the world, especially those in the global South, have been experiencing declining accessibility. As cities expand and traffic becomes more congested, many urbanites are spending increasing amounts of time and money traveling to their destinations’ (Venter, Mahendra and Hidalgo 2019). While perceived as a universal, arduous task, commuting across the world is never an equivalent experience, more so when drawing comparisons between cities of the Global North and the Global South. ‘Commuting is a global phenomenon, but… riding the Tokyo Shinkansen, riding the New York subway, and driving in Kolkata are very different commuting experiences. They each have different histories, different politics, different regimes of surveillance, and different manners and styles of moving.’ (Bissell 2018, xxxii) Especially in a city such as Manila where the transport infrastructure is enduringly a work in progress, commuting and the ways by which the commuter is allowed to move profoundly determines the ways in which the commuter experiences this daily chore, usually to his or her detriment. ‘Efficient mass public transportation systems in developing cities are essential to address increasing mobility needs. However, their level of service is typically characterised by chronic congestion, unreliability and safety problems, which result from various factors such as insufficient and outdated infrastructure, inadequate planning, and lack of safety measures… These conditions likely could lead to lost productivity and opportunity costs, stress and anxiety, health impacts, and accidents. However in spite of these negative physiological and psychological effects, many commuters still endure this situation daily.’ (Mijares, Suzuki and Yai 2016, 144-145)

Another study that approaches the topic from a cultural lens suggests that the situations commuters deal with everyday are already integrated into Filipino commuting culture in that ‘local commuters in Metro Manila have accepted the traffic situations as part of their culture, unconsciously disregarding the idea that they deserve to have better public transit options; the Manila traffic crisis has turned into a normal occurrence for those who are long accustomed to it’ (Fallaria, et al. 2019, 2). This demonstrates the need for a change in mindset of the Metro Manila commuters themselves, but it is one of the threads that I explore as I later on find out in the commuting narratives, in that the desire for a better means of moving within the city is very much potent in my interviewees’ sentiments. ‘Transport plays an important role in helping people access activities and participate in life—it is an important factor in human development’ (Hickman, et al. 2017, 171). It is not simply a displacement of the commuter from one point to

15 another, but also about how critical the journey is in shaping commuting experiences and the commuter in his everyday life.

As such, in this study, I explore the P2P bus as an intervening medium between the commuter and the daily difficult task he faces with the commute in Manila in order to find out how indeed these experiences of the commuter and his rhythms have been transformed with the P2P bus in place.

16 Commuting by the commuter and the role of rhythm: relevant research

In the previous chapter I covered the hard realities of commuting in the megacity context of Metro Manila, demonstrating the typical struggles that the commuter faces every day and the literature that empirically elaborates these struggles. Building from the previous chapter on the trying commute in Manila, in this chapter I draw from research that has been done within three themes relating to my study, namely: mobility as understood through commuting, the shaping of the commuting experience through infrastructure, the embodied nature of commuting in the form of the mobile figure of the commuter, and understanding rhythm as an analytical tool. I refer to what Spinney says about the work that has already been done in the social sciences such as transport geography but remains to be limited in terms of gaining insight into the everyday experience of mobility: ‘Whilst such work has provided valuable insights, it is generally concerned with macro-scale orderings of everyday mobility which attempt to explain the number of trips people make on a given day and variations in any rhythmic pattern which emerges…such accounts are geared toward understanding the relationship between urban structure, the transportation system and household travel patterns… and little attention is given to the way that the rhythms of the journey itself are structured (or contested) through discourse, experience or formed through situational knowledges of hybridized agents.’ (Spinney 2010, 115) Thus my purpose in focusing on these themes is also to contribute further to the knowledge discourse on everyday mobility understood through the figure of the commuter and the potential of utilising rhythm as an analytical instrument to make sense of the urban everyday.

Commuting as a form of mobility

Since the mobilities turn, the field of mobilities has expanded widely to encompass various forms of mobilities. Some themes are widely focused upon in academic work, such as residential transformations and transnational migration; in the early days of mobility studies, ‘mobility’ as a key term was limited to refer to matters of purely social and economic movements (Adey, et al. 2014, 2). In fact, this ‘new mobilities paradigm’ (Hannam, Sheller and Urry 2006, 1) was boldly alluded to only as recently as 2006 (though this is contested by Salazar, who countered that figures of mobile people have been used for a much longer time8), after which new forms of mobility were scrutinized. Thus, ‘mobility became acknowledged as part of the energetic buzz of the everyday and seen as a set of highly meaningful social practices that make up social, cultural and political life’; multi-sited research and a new approach to the social life as mobile was gradually becoming the norm, versus the previous preoccupation on fixity and stasis, and rootedness to place (Adey, et al. 2014, 3). Mobility as a field of study thus becomes critical and timely, even, because as Jiron says, ‘it greatly impacts upon daily life; lives do not stop while being mobile’ (2010, 129) and ‘practices of mobility, whether through travel and tourism, migration, residential mobility or everyday practices characterize modern living’ (2010, 131).

8 Refer to Salazar’s Key Figures of Mobility: an introduction (see references).

17 In being mobile, it is essential to understand that all movement is not without meaning. Cresswell and Jiron suggest meaning in mobility, in that ‘the act of moving or repeating mobile routines creates mobile places that are meaningful.’ (Jiron 2010, 143) ‘The fact of movement, skeptics might suggest, is both obvious and uninteresting. What connects mobility at the scale of the body to mobility at other scales is meaning. Stories about mobility, stories that are frequently ideological, connect blood cells to street patterns, reproduction to space travel. Movement is rarely just movement; it carries with it the burden of meaning and it is this meaning that jumps scales. It is this issue of meaning that remains absent from accounts of mobility in general, and because it remains absent, important connections are not made (Cresswell 2006, 6-7).’ Following this train of thought, it is suggested that we start from the miniscule, everyday level of mobility, or from the ground up, to further comprehend new notions of mobility in grander scales. It is also essential to create these narratives as Vergunst suggests, as ‘an account of mobility can be grounded in the gestures, habits and ways of knowing that make up everyday life’ (2017, 13). There is no other truer way to experience the world than as when we ourselves ‘move through it’ (Creswell 2006, 22), and so I explore in my discussion how meaning has been produced or reshaped in the recalibration of the P2P bus commuters’ experiences, by way of how they move, feel and act.

Thus I turn my attention to commuting, which, in this study, is to be construed as this everyday performance of mobility that is constitutive of urban life. ‘Urban ‘commuting’ is one example of an everyday practice rendered virtually invisible because of its familiarity.’ (Spinney 2010, 113) Considering the vastness of mobility studies today, everyday mobility as understood through the lens of commuting—singular experiences, nuanced narratives that go beyond numbers and data—is not as prevalent of a study as one might imagine, despite the existence of various modes of transport accessible in the world today. From this, I infer that there is still a lot of work to be done in studying this particular niche in mobility, i.e. using commuting as a framework for looking at everyday lived experiences in the urban life and simultaneously widening the meaning of mobility to critically include these spaces and activities: ‘So, there are many different ways of looking at and reading different scenes, practices and spaces of mobility.’ (Adey, et al. 2014, 6). Commuting thus as a habit of everyday mobilities ‘not only highlights the complexity and ongoing reconfiguration of these journeys beyond analysis informed by rational intention but the way this form of engagement makes it possible to analyse the significance of how each part of the journey opens up into the next as a series of sequentially organised and occasioned events.’ (Middleton 2011, 2858) Thus ‘mobilities must be viewed as more than ‘getting from A to B,’ and seen to include the ways that different embodied mobilities can be practiced, contested, represented, and understood’ (DeLyser 2010, 146).

The commuting experience as shaped by infrastructure

It is critical to understand how and why it matters that we look at not only social but also physical infrastructure in the creation of experience; this is useful in understanding the transition of commuting with the P2P bus from not having it at all in a commuter’s routine, and in examining how differently experienced the commute is with the P2P bus. Larkin’s piece on the politics and poetics of infrastructure (Larkin 2013) gives a general overview of the work done surrounding infrastructure and what still needs to be done; it also frames the basics, so to

18 speak, of what infrastructure entails – its ontologies, its symbolisms, its promises, its political agency or role, its magic, its network, technologies, and systems. (Larkin 2013, 328). More than that, however, I focus on the minute details that can arise when human experience interfaces with infrastructure, where it becomes and must then be acknowledged as ‘an integral and intimate part of daily social life: it affects … where we can travel, how long it takes, and how much it costs to get there…It is important to underline what may seem self-evident: infrastructures shape the rhythms and striations of [social] life.’ (Anand, Gupta and Appel 2018, 6) Moreover, material environments of the commute undoubtedly shape the activities that produce travel time (Bissell 2018, 58) and space and that ‘our bodily experiences of mobility are intimately connected with infrastructure’ (Bissell 2018, 102).

Infrastructure, while typically the invisible (Star 1999, 381) backbone of the everyday, are deeply influential in affecting our experiences: they are the ‘dense social, material, aesthetic, and political formations that are critical both to differentiated experiences of everyday life.’ (Anand, Gupta and Appel 2018, 3) Star’s attributes of what constitutes infrastructure (Star 1999, 381)—for instance, its links with conventions of practice and its needing to be learned as part of membership—are useful in analysing how the commuting experience can be shaped by the infrastructure a commuter encounters, such as how, for example, commuters’ old rhythms can be disrupted by a new means of payment introduced in the buses’ material infrastructure, or how they are better integrated into the existing rhythms of urban life by taking the bus. I further emphasize that the physicality of infrastructure plays an important role in influencing experience just as much as social infrastructure (albeit temporal and instant) does: ‘…places are about relationships, about placing (or displacing or replacing) people, materials, images, and the systems of difference they perform. This means that places are not experienced in a similar manner by everyone, for place is both the context for practice as well as a product of practice. The relationship between places and practices, particularly those which occur on a daily basis, are productive of contemporary urban life ’ (Jiron 2010, 131). It is undeniable that ‘different modes of mobility encourage different emotions’ (Fjalland, Freudendal-Pedersen and Hartmann-Petersen 2018, 6), and that the ways by which we are mobile matter in shaping how we negotiate the everyday. ‘The technology of motion that the traveller chooses to carry her away from home affects the repertoire of identities available to her. Sometimes it offers her new identities; sometimes it forces her to new identities’ Smith in (Creswell 2006, 229). In this case, it plays a role in the shaping of the figure of the commuter to be who he is the city.

The commuter: a figure of mobility

‘The modern individual is, above all else, a mobile human being’ (Sennet, cited in Creswell (2006, 15). The term ‘mobile subject’ is another parent term for the figure of mobility that has been used by Adey et al (2014, 11), described as ‘one of the new mobility paradigm’s main objects of enquiry’ (2014, 11). At the same time, Salazar uses the term ‘key figure’ and utilizes it as an analytical approach in his discourse on mobility, citing that ‘a figure in general not only connotes a representation of an (ideal-type) person but also a lived experience of a particular kind’ (2017, 8). He identifies, for instance, six figures in conceptualizing human mobility that allow social theorists to ‘relate broad-scale phenomena to the human condition’ (Salazar 2017, 9), namely, the nomad, the exile, the pilgrim, the tourist, the pedestrian and the

19 flâneur. In a similar fashion, de Certeau acknowledges the walker of the city in his work on the spatial practice of everyday life (2016), whom Creswell reads as urban beings, descended from the modern flâneur (2006, 48). There has also been work done on distinguishing the passenger figure from that of the commuter figure with his or her own set of identities (Adey, Bissell and McCormack, et al. 2012, 170), but for the purpose of my work, I argue that the passenger and commuter essentially share the same meaning and are therefore interchangeable, given that the passenger is, to put it simply, described to be ‘people who have places to get to, work to be done’ (Adey, Bissell and McCormack, et al. 2012, 170). Bringing all these figures into consideration, however, Creswell argues that ‘real bodies moving have never been at the top of the agenda in transport studies’ (Creswell 2010, 19) and that understanding mobility at the individual level, embodied and practiced, is critical: ‘it is at the level of the body that human mobility is produced, reproduced, and, occasionally, transformed’ (Creswell 2010, 20).

The figure of mobility then produces and acts with meaning: ‘The fact that our bodies allow us to move means that the meanings, which are produced in a myriad of ways and are mapped onto mobility are all the more powerful. The ubiquity of mobility makes it possible for particular mobilities to be portrayed as more than particular—as fundamental, as natural.’ (Cresswell 2006, 22) Bearing in mind that movement or being mobile produces meaning (together with meaningful places) as discussed in the preceding section, I argue that the commuter can and should be considered a more prominent figure of mobility in modern urban life as an actor who is able to produce and influence spaces within the city. In the body of my thesis I explore what the experience then is of the commuter in Manila, how they act and in what ways they find it meaningful, and how the P2P bus recalibrates these experiences for the commuter.

The corporeal body, and in this case, the commuter, is central in not only comprehending rhythms of the city but in producing them. As in Lefebvre’s work on the analysis of rhythms, the body is central as it possesses internal rhythms and can simultaneously encounter rhythms external to it. (Lefebvre 2013) As Spinney points out, “the rhythms of the modern city are overwhelmingly premised upon the body” (2010, 117) and Brighenti et al describe the body as ‘an important source and receptacle of rhythms’ (Brighenti and Kärrholm 2018). Jiron further supports this in that ‘as an embodied experience, mobility is specifically sensitive to the way the body performs in mobile places. The body is sensitive to the rhythms lying outside of it, the multiple and diverse rhythms that are captured by the senses, and also performs in accordance with the various rhythms and situations it faces.’ (Jiron 2010, 140) I discuss this further in a succeeding section on rhythm and rhythm-making.

Rhythm as instrument to understand the commuter

I now draw literature around the notions of rhythms and its role in providing us insight into embodied activities in the everyday such as commuting. As I have established, commuting is a veritable form of everyday mobility that naturally relates to movement. It is then necessary to claim that ‘rhythm is intimately associated with movement’ (Edensor and Holloway 2008, 488) and thus deserves to be a point of focus in a discourse involving mobility. As DeLyser contends, ‘understanding rhythms is part of understanding mobilities’ (2010, 147). Rhythm

20 forms part of the six constituents of mobility (Creswell 2010) and is part of the production of everyday life, ‘an important component of mobility at many different scales’ (Creswell 2010, 24). It ‘is found in the workings of our towns and cities, in urban life and movement through space. Equally, in the collision of natural, biological and social timescales, the rhythms of our bodies and societies, the analysis of rhythm provides a privileged insight into the question of everyday life.’ (Elden 2004, 2) Rhythm further suggests a choreography in the act of commuting (Bissell 2018, 49) which is observable through the rhythms produced.

The study of rhythms has a long tradition of interest in research extending well beyond Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis (2013), wherein scholars since the nineteenth century dwelled on ‘the work of rhythms in social life’ (Brighenti and Kärrholm 2018, 3). The definitions and conceptualization of rhythm as it is known today have been moulded into something that is to be understood on the level of the body, as Emile Jaques-Dalcroze writes—‘rhythm… is something to be felt and experienced through one’s own body’ (Brighenti and Kärrholm 2018, 4)—and today elevated to the level of the city, wherein there is a continued interest of planners and geographers in the study of rhythm and in ‘underlying social phenomena capable of shaping and sustaining rhythms that get transcribed into spatial formations at the urban scale’ (Brighenti and Kärrholm 2018, 5).

Having established some basic historical roots of the study of rhythms, I return to rhythmanalysis as popularised by Lefebvre in his work on rhythms and the production of everyday life. Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis seems unfinished and open to interpretation, with ideas strewn about without conclusion, but what we must take away from his work is that it offers us renewed ways to comprehend everyday urban life (Chen 2017, 1) by way of a relatable scale, i.e. the body. Much can be drawn from Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis, where from his balcony he ascertains rhythms he observes on the city street below. According to him, rhythm assists to analyse the particular and therefore concrete cases that feature in the lives of individuals; he describes rhythm to exist ‘where there is interaction between a place, a time and an expenditure of energy’ (Lefebvre 2004, 15). ‘Rhythmanalysis emphasises the differential relations of the senses: of how they recur and transform… The method of rhythmanalysis foregrounds forms of experience, for it addresses the sensing of rhythms… we then have experiences as characterised by rhythms with which the intervals and interstices of the senses are being attended to’ (Chen 2017, 3). How might the rhythms encountered by the commuter through the P2P bus characterise, reshape and inform the commuting experience? What are these rhythms and how are they felt? This is important to my study because understanding the commuting experience through what the commuter feels and encounters—in other words, making tangible this notion of rhythms—is what I’m interested in unpacking later on.

Edensor’s study on walking takes an analytical cue from rhythmanalysis (Edensor 2010). He describes rhythms of walking as such, which can largely be extended to other activities—in this case, the activity of commuting which inevitably involves the embodied performance of walking—wherein largely the same flows of experience and immersion can be produced:

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‘The rhythms of walking allow for a particular experiential flow of successive moments of detachment and attachment, physical immersion and mental wandering, memory, recognition and strangeness, blurring the divisions suggested by much recent actor network theory between representation and sensory and affective engagement (Edensor and Holloway 2008). If understood as a weaving through place (Ingold 2004), the walking body weaves a path that is contingent, and accordingly produces contingent notions of place as well as being always partially conditioned by the special and physical characteristics of place.’ (Edensor 2010, 70)

Edensor suggests that the [walking] body is in itself a rhythmic entity dwelling simultaneously in a setting (the city) that is full of varying rhythmicities (2010, 71). And by noting the ‘performative dimensions of walking’ (2010, 74), he contends [walking] rhythms produces other rhythms—and in this regard, the same could be said about commuting rhythms. And much can be deduced from examining rhythms at such a scale; as Lefebvre claims, ‘Rhythms. Rhythms. They reveal and they hide,’ (2004, 36) and it is crucial in further unpacking everyday life. ‘Thus, rhythm, considered as an element of dynamic stability, allows us to discover concordances, dissonances and conflicts among different phenomena. In this way it can reveal hidden rules (which have not been studied yet) for the comprehension of some functional and symbolic components of contemporary cities.’ (Mareggi 2013, 5) It is also important to note that ‘although rhythms are repetitive, they are not necessarily similar; in their repetitiveness, difference is always found as no rhythm is ever the same as another, and every rhythm has its own beat.’ (Jiron 2010, 133)

Meanwhile in his work on skateboarding rhythms in urban space, Platt refers to rhythm as conceptually laid out by Lefebvre: ‘[Lefebvre] allows us to consider the ways in which the city may have its own rhythms, but also how users of urban space respond to these patterns… his work allows us to consider the city in unique and unplanned ways’ (Platt 2018, 832). The different notions of rhythm as defined by Lefebvre is useful in this study. For instance, linear rhythms (Lefebvre 2013, 40) is particularly useful in this study as this is the kind of rhythm that can be attributed to commuting and in this research wherein a seeming arrhythmia (Lefebvre 2013, 77) in the chaos of everyday transit life shifts to a linear rhythm that is partially attributed to the new infrastructure in place.

In conducting rhythmanalysis, Lefebvre further extends a suggestion to understanding rhythm: ‘In order to grasp and analyse rhythms, it is necessary to get outside them, but not completely: be it through illness or technique. A certain exteriority enables the analytic intellect to function. However, to grasp a rhythm it is necessary to have been grasped by it; one must let oneself go, give oneself over, abandon oneself in its duration… In order to grasp this fleeting object, which is not exactly an object, it is therefore necessary to situate oneself simultaneously inside and outside.’ (Lefebvre 2004, 37) This seems to be a convoluted task, however; we are surrounded by rhythms. We produce rhythms and are exposed to a multiplicity of repetitions and patterns in our everyday life: ‘The diurnal pace of urban life varies within and between

22 cities, with their hectic rush hours, quiet mid-afternoons, vibrant early evenings and low-key nights. Superimposed on this are the habits of individuals, their body rhythms, seasonal and ‘natural’ rhythms… so that place is constituted by a multitude of rhythmic combinations that ‘fold time and space in all kinds of untoward localisations and intricate mixtures’ (Amin and Thrift 2002, 47). But Lefebvre urges us to listen anyway the way one might listen to music. It is wise to remember that the body is central to the study of rhythms, and that this ‘rhythmic responsiveness is a bodily skill that individuals develop over time in a variety of ways’ (Hensley 2010, 170), and thus the key to even begin to analyse the recalibration of experience by way of reading commuting rhythms on and because of the P2P bus’ intervention is to place the figure of the commuter at the centre of it.

Summary and Conclusion

Having defined and described rhythm in a variety of ways and where it has been undertaken as a topic of interest in research, I illustrate how still rather limited it has been utilised when it comes to the experience of the mobile figure. Spinney writes, ‘given that rhythm implies the association of a space and a time and thus movement, there is surprisingly little mention of it in mobilities research’ (Spinney 2010, 115). I add to this the seeming observation that the rhythms and experiences of an urban figure, in this case, a commuter, is not undertaken as often as other figures of mobility (for instance, the migrant). Adey et al’s mobile subject in the new mobilities turn tends to be comprised of those who have been otherwise marginalised or silenced—‘different subjects are often placed in quite different ways in relation to their mobility’ (Adey, et al. 2014, 12)—and it is remarkable to see how the commuter and the ways by which he negotiates his mobility seems overlooked. Bissell’s work on transit life in Australia (2018) is a comprehensive body of work collected in four years across varying modes of urban transport and focused mainly upon the commuter and how commuting has transformed urban life, but little else seems to have been done in an equivalent magnitude when it comes to making sense of the multitudes of experiences of the commuting figure as the foregrounding subject of research work across the world. These ‘experiences are multiple, heterogenous and are mediated along many lines’ (Adey, Bissell and McCormack, et al. 2012, 173).

Drawing largely from rhythmanalysis as a framework and analysing the commuter through and because of his rhythms and those of which he encounters, I proceed to the case study and methodology of this study. In the body of this thesis, I explore what the experience of the commuter is in Manila, how they act and in what ways they have rhythmically been changed. I explore what their challenges are in commuting in Manila, how the intervention of the P2P bus has ultimately affected these experiences and what exactly is calibrated in the rhythm of the commute and the commuter.

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Figure 4. The ATC-Greenbelt P2P bus at Greenbelt. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

Figure 5. Available P2P routes as of January 2020. The main interest of this research is the ATC-Greenbelt 1 route. (Source: Philippine Primer, Vol. 46, Jan 2020)

24 The Point-to-Point Bus, an intervention in commuting

My study thus focuses on the everyday struggle of commuting in Metro Manila and the intervention of the premium point-to-point bus service (from here on, called the P2P bus) in the reshaping of the commute as experienced by the commuter figure. The rationale for my choice of case study is two-fold. First, the P2P bus remains to be a fairly new transport infrastructure in the city, having been in existence for approximately five years; however it is one that has already remarkably transformed the ways in which its commuters make their way across the city to and from home. Owing to the P2P buss’ transformative capacities, it has inevitably caused effects on the realities of its commuters, in that it has introduced new rhythms or expanded on existing ones in the commute. Second, from a contextual basis, because the P2P bus is still relatively novel in Manila, there is not much available academic research relating to this bus system. Due to its long history and enduring presence in the country, jeepneys, to date the main public utility vehicle of the Philippines, typically feature greatly in academic research work and so a body of knowledge about it is easily more accessible.

The P2P bus system was initiated by the Department of Trade and Communications as part of the country’s public utility bus modernization program wherein the buses and their designated routes are serviced by various private transport companies. (DOTr Latest News 2016) To date there are over fifty routes throughout Metro Manila and parts of the greater National Capital Region. The P2P began in 20159 (Lopez 2015), wherein new opportunities to save on costs usually due to toll way fees and gasoline money, but more importantly time, were introduced. Where the notions of traffic and the unpredictability of time on the road are familiar and feature greatly in urban residents’ daily conversations and routines, it is safe to conjecture that the P2P is an option looked upon generally with more favour by several commuters today, though it remains to be less accessible to those of whom are unable to afford the higher fare in exchange for better time management and general security, comfort and safety. Nonetheless ridership has steadily increased by the thousands since having begun operations (Abadilla 2018).

In many ways the P2P is made to be more modern when compared to its road counterparts; one other feature aside from its more or less dependable punctuality is the supposed flexibility of payment, wherein a Beep card can be used to pay for the fare, provided that there is enough credit topped up into the card. Other ways of paying include cash, G-Cash and PayMaya10, etc. It can be generalized as well that P2P buses are commonly newer buses; while it is not true for all routes and the provincial, high-floor type of buses continue to dominate the bus scene, some routes use the low-floor type of bus, as is the case for this study.

In this research, I prioritised one route, namely the Alabang Town Center – Greenbelt 1 route as this segment connects to a well-known central business district in the city of Makati. The Alabang Town Center (ATC) node is located in the city of Muntinlupa, which has its own

9 The first buses in the P2P system were launched in March 2015. (Rappler News, 2015). See references. 10 Means for cashless transactions or using an e-wallet to pay for goods and services.

25 centres of business and commerce but those of which comparatively pale against those found in Makati. Notably these nodes are physically situated adjacent to or within shopping malls; in fact, the stops pertain to the malls’ respective names (Alabang Town Center, again, is located in Muntinlupa, while Greenbelt 1 is located in Makati). While I prioritized this aforementioned route, it was inevitable to come across a few interviewees who also had more experience or regularity on other routes, one of them being the Alabang Town Center – Market Market! route that also connects to another central business district, the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig.

The P2P bus’ attractive feature when compared to other forms of transport in Metro Manila is a general fixedness in schedule that a commuter may see as reliable, especially when comparing it to other available transport systems. In a day, the P2P bus that travels between this route, for instance, departs in an interval of thirty minutes11. The earliest bus departs from ATC at five thirty in the morning, as usually a crowd of workers tends to come from anywhere else into Makati for work. The last bus from Greenbelt that goes back to ATC departs at ten in the evening on weekdays. On the weekends this schedule shifts slightly as it is assumed that less people rely on the P2P this time of the week.

Analytical design

In conducting this study I thus focus on commuters, their stories of normal, everyday commuting struggles and stories of how the P2P bus recalibrates their experiences and rhythms. There is ample space to synthesize creativity and conventional research tools in the attempt to approach mobilities studies: “A range of qualitative research practices can be invaluable for the investigation of experiences and feelings of movement and mobility, from the use of archival research, textual analysis, interviews and oral histories, to video ethnography, focus groups, photo-diaries, cyber-ethnographies, autobiographical reflections, and creative and/or documentary forms such as painting, poetry, photography and performance.” (Merriman 2014) Above all it is central to my study that I approach mobile methods openly, bearing in mind what Merriman further calls out for in mobilities research: “…expanding the number of disciplinary perspectives on movement and mobility… adopting modest, ‘weak’, open, non-representational epistemologies and ontologies—not as a means to grasp and represent elusive practices, but as a means to experiment and move with.” (2014) Conducting field work with a heavy dependence on my mobile phone, for instance, to record data, is a reorientation of methods to focus on mobilities as the foregrounding basis of my research, ‘prioritizing the specificities of mobility itself’ (Faulconbridge and Hui 2017)—in this case, the mobile, rhythmic experience read and analysed through the commuter of the P2P bus. Thus my methodology included the following critical research tools that helped inform my knowledge of and sensitivities to the commuter: a customised passive lurker approach; semi-structured interviews; participant observation; and photography and film, all of which I discuss extensively in the next section.

11 This is true for weekdays; on weekends the number of trips decreases usually to one an hour.

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Methods to inform the research

I went about my study by first applying a customised passive lurker approach. The passive lurker approach was inspired by Rink’s research method, wherein he characterised it by ‘the lack of direct interaction between the researcher and online communities… the passive lurker gathers data anonymously from publicly accessible websites, while those who post on such sites are not aware of the role of the researched in the study. Data from this passive lurker stance are neither used directly not with attribution to those… who posted the content.’12 Following in this vein, at the start of my fieldwork, I used social media platforms heavily in my search for prospective interviews and starting points. It began with a public Facebook post on my personal account, where I reached out to those whom I already knew to direct me to others who might be interested in taking part in my research. Several acquaintances, especially those of whom I hadn’t contacted in years, replied; a former colleague directed me to a relevant and active Metro Manila commuter group—“How’s your biyahe, ‘bes?” (translated: How’s your journey, ‘bes?13)—which led to the discovery of other local commuter groups and mobility advocate/enthusiast communities in the country. I thus set out to post a general message in these groups to attract potential interviewees; while my posts did not stir up a dynamic debate on commuting as I had hoped, it did however lead me to meet interesting people whom I interacted with later on in person. In tune with being a passive lurker, I also returned to some of these groups later on to gather data pertaining to what was being said by and about commuters and commuting. Concurrently, I thought Twitter was another platform I could rely on, as I was well aware of its popularity in the Philippines. A good fraction of the population still relied on Twitter for news, live traffic updates, etc. It did not disappoint; posting a concise tweet with the same request, a good friend retweeted my tweet and tagged a local community Twitter account, who consequently retweeted it. A formidable thread formed, and this led to two successful in-person interviews and an online survey interview later on.

By way of participant observation, I also became a commuter on the P2P bus and participated in the embodied performance of commuting. Much of commuting also involves the embodied activity of walking between stops, to bus terminals, crossing the road, etc. Drawing from Middleton’s work on walking, she argues that it is only by walking that we can understand and inform policy around it (pedestrianism, for example) from the ground up, and that it is in the walking that we are able to understand walking in itself as an activity, not merely utilizing it as a tool to access more ‘authentic’ experience (Middleton 2011, 91). I kept myself in check both as a researcher and as a commuter. It was critical that I consciously attempted to defamiliarize myself with the bus system, so as to maintain a fresh and critical outlook of my fieldwork, and that I observed not only others who rode with me but also myself and how I performed the activity of commuting on the P2P bus. To complement this I maintained the use of an urban diary of sorts and attempted an autoethnography of my encounters while riding the P2P bus, utilizing my mobile phone to write down notes on each trip on the bus. With an ‘auto- ethnographic mode of inquiry’ as described by Wind et al (2018, 13) , it ‘personally commits and attunes the researcher to the researched in multiple registers’. This mobile phone technique

12 Rink, “Liminality At-Sea.” 13 Bes, a local slang word, shortened for ‘best friend’.

27 provided me with the ability to be incognito, in that I merely looked like any other passenger texting via mobile phone on the bus. Taking notes of the time, the weather, the other passengers, my own experiences, feelings and observations, etc. proved useful, as I looked back on them and reflected them in my findings later on.

Finally I also utilised photography and film in the study; my main purpose in doing so was to hopefully grasp rhythms and materialities present in the field in a tangible manner. Borrowing Creswell’s words, these visual media make ‘visible the world of motion’ (2006, 61). I also requested for my interviewees to provide me, if they could, their own photographs of their commutes, to which some complied with. As Lisle argues for the use of photography, ‘analysing how photographs and viewers themselves move within networks automatically widens the possibilities of what can happen during their encounters…[and] reveals the infinite pathways of interpretation along which photographs can potentially signify, and opens up a wider horizon for the mobility of meaning’ (2014, 538). Simultaneously, scholars have championed for the use of video to capture fleeting moments of everyday and mobile life which would otherwise have been glossed over in static texts (Simpson 2014, 543-544) and that ‘when used in certain ways mobile video methods can provide something of a helping hand in gaining insight into the mundane happening of movement and its experience that might not necessarily be accessed in the same way through talk-only methodologies’ (Simpson 2014, 550). Thus this collection of media, a mixture of my own shots and a few of my interviewees’, thus complemented my fieldwork and analysis and added a texture and reality to the lived experience of taking the P2P bus, though not all, for several reasons, have been added to the final work.

Storying the commuter’s experiences

In the interest of scholarly work, there is a lot of material on transport studies, infrastructure and mobilities to be found, of which the focus remains on policy-making, identity and citizenship through the reading of its physical infrastructure. However, much is still to be unpacked about the embodied experiences of these figures of this kind of mobility. Why do we need to take seriously the figure of the commuter? Let us consider that mobility is so entrenched and so ‘deeply implicated in the politics of the modern world’ (Cresswell 2006, 22). There is then a need to fix our gaze onto the mobile individual, the commuter, who figures well in all of this – so the purpose of my research is not to assume the experience of the commuter which is otherwise almost always assumed. Moreover, this feeds into the formation of policy as well; ‘storying transport experiences can become a valuable dimension of transport advocacy’ (Bissell 2018, xxvii). To borrow Middleton’s enquiry, ‘how can we engage with the multiplicity of those experiences in a way that can translate into something meaningful for transport policy makers?” (Middleton 2011, 2860) This study fits within the rhetoric of policy and the P2P bus, in Manila and across global southern cities where transport is generally challenging.

I thus applied writing a collection of narratives as part of my methodology. Bissell wrote of his role as researcher: “…my task as a researcher has been to cultivate a sensitivity toward my participants in order to appreciate the significance of commuting in their lives.” (2018, 131) I felt my role was equivalent to that of his reflection, and so I endeavoured not only to cultivate

28 this so-called sensitivity towards my interviewees but also to strive to educate myself with the impact and breadth of commuting—and using the P2P bus—in my interviewees’ lives.

A total of seven in-person interviews were conducted, with two others who were unable to meet with me and who otherwise responded instead via an online survey. As expected, despite providing a similar list of questions, the seven interviews I handled in person drew thicker, more intimate responses as I had made brief but personal connections with these individuals and much deeper conversations could therefore ensue. These interviews were conducted in coffee shops accessible to both myself and the interviewee, so as to provide a neutral setting where we could both be at ease and engage in a productive session. In order to further break down barriers, I encouraged the use of either English or Tagalog, or both simultaneously, i.e. using Taglish14 instead, so as to make the interview feel less formal and more like a peer conversation. Segments, if not all of the narratives later on were consequently translated to English in consistency with this research. Each interview took approximately thirty or so minutes, whilst a few extended well over an hour. In conducting these interviews, personal commuting narratives, reflections and biases were shared. I intended on a go-along—a rather popular mobile method as mentioned or referred to in the works of Anderson (2004), Lee and Ingold (2006) and Evans and Jones (Evans and Jones 2011)—and while most interviewees agreed to the idea of a go-along, this was not feasible either due to scheduling conflicts or long intervals between the time we met and their next commutes on the bus by a handful of my interviewees. Only one interview was thus followed up with a go-along the day following the interview, where I was able to accompany the interviewee on her commute on the P2P bus. In another case, on my first test ride for fieldwork, I was able to go along with an old friend who took the P2P bus to work almost everyday. The seven transcribed interviews are appended in this work for reference.

My interviewees had two main similarities: first, that they maintained a frequency of times with which they took the P2P bus. This frequency ranged from as minimal as twice a month, to as frequent as six times back and forth within the same day. Most if not all my interviewees were professionals, with the exception of one who was still a college student, and this frequency was primarily based on traveling between work and home and secondarily on personal commitments. Second, my interviewees were regular commuters of the route in question, or at least had a reliable experience with using the P2P bus running on this route. With the exception of one interviewee, they were all generally seasoned commuters, having been reliant on various forms of available public transportation in Metro Manila in order to be mobile. Three confirmed that they seldom drove on a regular basis but possessed a driver’s license.

Inevitably, there were limits to the research in that it was not possible within the time frame and recommended breadth of the work to cross-check and include all routes of the P2P bus system in my fieldwork. I have learned also that all P2P buses and therefore experiences as encountered by a varying pool of commuters are all different, but the study did not account for these other routes. This notwithstanding, I took my commuter interviewees’ stories,

14 An informal language mixing words from both English and Tagalog, commonly used in everyday conversations.

29 thoughts and feelings seriously and consider them indispensable to my work. While I only focused on one route of the P2P bus system, there is much to be said about the other nuanced experiences and stories of other commuters not included in this study.

In the succeeding section, what follows are a weaving of narratives these interviews revealed, organised accordingly into themes that arose in fieldwork. Through these stories, I also situate myself inside and outside of the stories, some of which my own experiences are analogous with, so as ‘to grasp and analyse rhythms’ because ‘one must let oneself go, give oneself over, abandon oneself to its duration’ (Lefebvre 2013, 37). I discerned four themes that arose in my findings that aided me to draw closer to an answer, so to speak, to the aforementioned questions in my research of identifying the ways in which the P2P bus is experienced by the commuters and how it recalibrates their rhythms. I begin first with the commuter and his or her relationship with the city through a framework of commuting, so as to establish who this figure of mobility is. I then move on to the second theme of exploring the commuting challenges in Manila as lived through by the commuters, where I identify the constitutive elements of transit life in Manila and thus construct an image of the city through commuting. I then move on to the third theme that reflects on the reshaping of commuter experiences through the intervening of the P2P bus, wherein I attempt to interpret their encounters as informed by my interviewees and my own fieldwork in order to mark and rationalize the rhythmic changes in experience. The last theme then proceeds to make sense of these transformed rhythms in the commuter and how they produce or reproduce them. Through these vignettes, I reflect the concrete realities of commuting life in Manila as experienced by these commuters and the effort it entails, and how, through the intervening of the P2P bus, their experiences and their rhythms have been recalibrated.

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Figure 6. Stepping off the bus, my interviewees describe a shift in how they carry themselves and how they move. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

31 The commuter meets the city

The ‘commuter’ is a title not easily deserved—at least, not in Manila. Ina used to work a corporate job in Makati and thereafter in BGC, before ultimately becoming a self-employed entrepreneur. Prior to the start of the P2P bus operations, she was driven by car from home in Muntinlupa to these central business districts to get to work. When I ask her if she would call herself a commuter, she shakes her head. “I really don’t deserve that term [commuter]. I don’t like taking the jeep. [A commuter is] someone who’s like—who knows how to get around… “oh yeah, QC, I’m gonna take the jeep, blah blah blah”, and someone who’s cool with it. I’m not cool with it. I’ll take a Grab15. I’ll take a Grab somewhere. I’m gonna take a P2P to Makati then I’m gonna take a Grab. That’s what I’m gonna do. I wouldn’t [call myself a commuter]. I don’t think I deserve the term. Not in Manila anyway.” (Ina 2020) From her fervent no, a few things are immediately apparent to me: first, that the commuter is ‘cool with it’—he or she is someone who knows how to get around Manila by way of walking, by way of the jeepney, by way of the regular bus, by way of the train, everything, and strings all those forms of moving to get from place to place. Second, that the reason she is not cool with commuting is because there are obstacles involved when one commutes. She doesn’t outline them for me, but it is there in her way of explaining why she can’t be called one. Simply put, it is difficult to be a commuter—‘in Manila anyway’—and she hasn’t put up with the challenges it bring or wants to avoid them, if she could, at all costs.

Andro feels the same way about treating the title with due respect. Andro is an emergency physician who, as a bimodal commuter, uses a foldable bike and the P2P bus mainly to make his way around Metro Manila. He tells me that the reason he even started seriously biking the first time was because his place of work was close to where he lived and yet the general road situation did not help, citing a growing frustration when traffic steadily worsened between 2015 and 2016. “For me it was absurd that my work place was around two to three kilometres away from where I lived.” (Andro 2020) We get into a discussion about car drivers and commuters at some point of our conversation. Because he used to drive around Manila himself (and still does, when the need arises on the rare occasion), Andro passionately tells me that there are challenges that the commuter goes through that the car driver will never have to undergo while on the move. “…A car driver should not associate himself or herself with a commuter. I strongly believe that. I strongly believe that. They’re two separate figures. I used to drive a car, you see. I used to say, ‘Ah, this commute sucks!’ Like that, you see… you are not being a [commuter] being in a big seven-seater SUV and—and— and being one driver? You’re not part of the solution… A commuter is a—a person who, who has to move around because of a lot of things but is currently suffering, because he or she is not favoured.” (Andro 2020) He mentions a few things that are noteworthy; one being that there is a clear traffic problem in Manila since that was the catalyst for his having started to commute more seriously and that he perceives drivers as not being ‘part of the solution’ of the bigger road issues of Manila. Another point is that the commuter is the one who is suffering because he or she is not favoured—perhaps by the transport situation, perhaps by the

15 Grab is a ride-hailing service prominent in Southeast Asia, similar to the likes of Uber.

32 government, or perhaps by the daily, erratic, happenstance conditions on the road that he or she might face. He later tells me commuters should even be called the modern day Filipino heroes, because of all the hardships they encounter by just simply needing to get to work via the public commute available in the city, so as ‘to put money on the table, to earn for his or her family, to continue working for services... ‘If you go through the commute, you’re being a hero, because you’re putting yourself—you’re making yourself suffer or choosing to, I mean, you’re saving [by commuting] for your family…’ (Andro 2020) In his explanations, I interpret that the commuter is not only deemed to be long-suffering, but also respectable and hardworking for all that he sacrifices by having to tolerate the commute.

Ron is a thirty-four-year old freelance tech blogger from Laguna, a province south of Metro Manila, who takes pride in being a commuter all his life. He is very much familiar with the available ways to travel via bus between Laguna and Metro Manila. Asking him how we would describe the commuter, he tells me that he would describe the commuter to be matiyaga16, loosely translated to mean ‘persevering’, though this does not encapsulate the full breadth of this word’s meaning (see footnote 16): “Matiyaga. Matiyaga. Obviously, especially they will… uh, put in a number of hours. It depends on where they go home. […] If I—if he will be a southie17 like me, less effort. Less effort. Uhm… but if you are the kind of southie who’s coming from Makati, you’re working in Makati and living in Alabang area, and you have no choice but to stand in the bus going to Alabang, that’s matiyaga. It’s also hardworking of them, because obviously from those working in the Ortigas area, living in Rizal area… you can check Starmall, EDSA area, there’s a lot of people lining up on the—the UV Express and jeepney rides going to Rizal. That’s matiyaga. […] I think matiyaga is the perfect word for us commuters.” (Ron 2020) He offers more of an elaboration of why the commuter is matiyaga and therefore deserving of praise—there are lines involved; there is an image constructed in one’s mind of this figure having to endure a packed bus ride while exhausted, standing for a long time.

As much as there are good things to be said about commuters by commuters, Andro tells me that the reality is that there are drawbacks in being perceived as a commuter, such as when it comes to what he wears and how it is an irony that he would choose to commute given his profession: ““I’m a doctor—people don’t associate physicians in typical Filipino fashion as a commuter: “Oh, Doc [is] taking the bus? Doc is taking the jeep?” Like that…For example… at my previous work before, when they—they noticed I started bike commuting, they would—the guards will… will scan me. You know? How guards do profiling? So for example, if I go to work with a car, wearing my blazer right away, it’s no issue, you’ll be let in. But if I’m in a bike commuter outfit, carrying my stuff, because they see my helmet, it’s like, they’ll ask, “Sir, where are you going?” So you’re profiled. It’s unavoidable, because they look down on you.” (Andro 2020)

16 Matiyaga does not have a direct translation in English as it depends on the situation. In the context of commuting, its synonyms would be closest to “patient”, “persevering”, “hardworking”, “long-suffering”. In the translation above, I choose to keep matiyaga untranslated so as not to simplify the interviewee’s use of the word to convey the weight of the commuter’s efforts. 17 A slang term to mean someone who hails from the south of Metro Manila, typically in the cities including but not limited to Muntinlupa, Las Pinas, Paranaque, and even Calamba, which is in the province south of Metro Manila.

33 Michelle, an architect and transport planner, tells me essentially the same thing: “…first priority once one is working, what do they buy? They buy a car. We’re car-centric. These are just my frustrations. …it’s just interesting. When you get called a commuter here in the Philippines, “Ouch!” The connotation is very negative because… it’s as if… it’s… cars, or taking the… private transport is considered I think like a… like a status symbol. It’s as if it’s a sign that you’ve made it.” (Michelle 2020) In these expansions of the term commuter, both Andro and Michelle suggest the social stereotyping they as commuters feel are unfair and are part of the general conflict that commuters in Manila face.

In the descriptions I receive most if not all of them offer connotations of struggle. Struggle is central to the commuter’s life, but especially so in Metro Manila. Hence virtues of this figure had been brought up in some of my conversations with interviewees. Commuters are described to have great strength and patience (Sophia 2020), both values that are needed to weather through the day’s commute. These difficulties are those which make up the lived experiences of the commuter in Metro Manila, those of which I unpack in the following section.

34

Figure 7. An intersection in Metro Manila at around 6:30am, taken from inside the P2P bus. One might spot pedestrians on an overpass, jeepneys awaiting passengers by the side of the road, cars crossing the intersection, and the gradual build-up of traffic. In the distance is the Laguna de Bay. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

35 ‘Forget the rhythm’: the chaotic challenge of the Manila commuting scene

This theme establishes the context of Metro Manila through the lens of commuting rhythms already in place in the city. I look at the stories that my interviewees shared with me, those of which reveal a humdrum that is evocative of everyday transit life and affect their way of being.

The hassle of the commute: the hard work of commuting in Manila

When I ask Ron what he thinks rhythm is, he tells me, “I think rhythm is something that is smooth… There’s no interruption. Smooth and also no interruptions, obviously, no obstacles.” (Ron 2020) Ron recounts various stories of his experiences and frustrations on the move, ranging from being squeezed in a packed bus during rush hour—“it’s like sardines on wheels” (Ron 2020)—to devising his own defence mechanisms, one of which is through his rejection of wireless earphones, relying instead on wired earphones that would consequently be attached to his phone to warn him of pickpockets because, more often than not, “someone will try to steal your phone” (Ron 2020). Bearing in mind what he thinks about rhythm, he then tells me, “…during rush hours, it’s really… forget the rhythm. Forget the rhythm!” (Ron 2020) Rhythm, for the most part and as lived by the commuter such as Ron, goes beyond simply taking it in as the banal repetitions of routes and rush hours. Accordingly, rhythm for Ron must be something he feels to be smooth. But this, he says, is not the case. While waiting for the regular bus, it is common for him to have days where he thinks, “I hope no one’s standing in the middle [of the bus]. Like you’re just [tired from the day], you’re sweating [so much], you’re exhausted…” (Ron 2020). He adjusts to this seeming lack of rhythm by subscribing to “a battle plan” (Ron 2020) wherein he strategizes what hour to leave and which route to take in order to reach his work events. “If I have a media event… that [starts] around the evening, like for example, five pm and up, I’ll go in BGC three pm, because there’s a cut-off time. For example, if you’re in the Glorietta area, if you’re—by five pm, for sure you’ll be arriving there in BGC two hours. In two hours—because of the, the traffic in Forbes Park area, the possible traffic in C5 area. (sic)” (Ron 2020) Glorietta, for reference, is approximately five kilometres away from BGC when one checks Google Maps, but walking, for instance, is not so much an option because of the unfriendliness of the street infrastructure (among other things, there is EDSA, the huge, main road artery of Metro Manila that must be crossed, and sidewalks are not completely available throughout the walk). There is the thirty degree heat of the day to contend with. There are other obstacles. Simply put, no one would really think of walking between the two points. One would go only by way of a vehicle, and taking a taxi would be useless in the face of traffic and doubly expensive. The situation is not ideal, but he has learned to negotiate with the inconvenience of the commute and the time that he must put in to reach his destination.

Nicko, meanwhile, calls the commute “sobrang18 hassle” (Nicko 2020). A nineteen-year- old engineering student, he originally comes from Cavite, a province adjacent to Muntinlupa.

18 Too much of a (hassle).

36 Every weekend or so when school is in session, he travels to Intramuros in the municipality of Manila where his university is located and where he takes up room in a dormitory. According to him, his usual commute used to involve “a lot of hassles” (Nicko 2020), in that leaving home would entail multiple transfers, regardless of the reason for commuting (such as going to school or going out for recreational or social purposes)—from the likes of a minivan to exit his neighbourhood, then onto a jeep, to a regular bus, etc. A meeting scheduled for lunch, he says, would mean his having to wake up at seven am nonetheless, in order to make it on time: “[It’s such a] hassle… it’s extremely tiring…Time-consuming. The effort I give is so much just for a lunch with someone. Because I have friends from the North19, so of course halfway… is already in Makati, so the effort I exert is so much just to have lunch. Just [for] one meeting… It’s really just the exhaustion that’s the most stressful thing about commuting.” (Nicko 2020) Commuting is a struggle that he seems to have little choice but to succumb to as it is something external to himself that he cannot completely control. Describing himself as someone who likes to plan his routine the night before, commuting is one of the less predictable segments of his day that he must nonetheless weather through. A disruption in the form of a traffic jam or a bus accident exacerbated by poor handling of the situation (the exact scenario that he experienced and that which caused his lateness on the day of our meeting) is a disruption for him for the rest of his day. “It’s like your plans (for the day) and your pattern in a day is disrupted because of the waiting. The…rhythm is interrupted.” (Nicko 2020) Like Ron, he must usually adjust to this rhythm in order to carry on with his day. He points out another thing that a commuter must adhere to—waiting. He waits for his turn to ride whatever mode of transport, he waits while he is stuck in traffic, etc. Waiting here as he describes it is beyond his control and suggests that he is forced to wait rather passively until he is back to the regular rhythm of his day.

Michelle situates her home in Las Piñas and goes to work in BGC at the time of our interview. Her experience as a commuter prior to the P2P bus is coloured with familiar tones of frustration and resignation. As a former resident of Quezon City, a city up north where, in general, there are more transportation options available, she laments the disjointed and harder ways of commuting from the south as normally, it is only by regular bus that she is able to travel by public commute all the way to work, if her husband doesn’t drive her: “Sometimes it would take around two hours to wait for the bus. Yeah. It was really funny, that I would ask myself, “What am I doing here?” If it comes to that, what do I do? I just ask to be picked up—[I don’t care but] I’m going home. Yeah, I don’t know. [That was] before, [that was] before. So it’s very, very… it’s really, really, not entertaining [to wait that long]. Everyday [it’s a] hassle. But I [still] don’t want to bring a car.” (Michelle 2020) As a transport planning graduate who espouses the use of public transport in the city, she does not subscribe to the preferred use of cars, but cannot deny the disrupted nature of the existing infrastructure in Manila. “In the Philippines, it’s extremely degraded. Seriously, it’s because it’s only here that I, as compared to the other countries—transport planning per se—it’s only here that I’ve seen how demoralizing it is to commute. As compared [to]—when you go to other countries [you see people] in a suit, wearing a Rolex, taking the train, walking…” (Michelle 2020) Interpreting rhythm as a regularity—“rhythm connotes a regular sound or beat or something, right?” (Michelle 2020)— she explains then that such a reliable pattern cannot be found in Manila in terms of commuting.

19 The Alabang area (which the route of the P2P bus I’m interested serves) is located in the south of Metro Manila.

37 “It’s like…you’re taking something from a box, and you don’t know what you’re gonna expect the next. I can say that it took me thirty minutes to go to work, and sometimes it will take you three to four hours.” (Michelle 2020) Various words and inflections used in the conversations held not only with Michelle but with other interviewees harkened to wishful thinking when it came to a working, organized means of public transportation infrastructure.

Myk, a thirty-four year old banking professional, used to be a frequent commuter by way of regular bus, jeepney and UV Express between Makati and Bacoor, Cavite, where he and his family are based. Recently he has made the decision to rent an apartment in Makati to be closer to work and thus lessen his troubles of commuting, especially now that he is able to afford to do so. “…When I was starting at work, I had no money. I came from a very middle- class family. I had no money… so [my commuting choices] were really dependent on my budget, so before I really had no chance to rent here in Makati because the prices are so high, so really, every day I commute from Bacoor to Makati. So I, I endure all the hassles of, of commuting, you see, so…” (Myk 2020) He stresses the word ‘hassles’ to drive his point home. “When I was starting working the traffic wasn’t as bad as right now, you see, so [it would take] one to one and a half hours from Bacoor to Makati. But now with the traffic, sometimes it really takes me three to four hours. So sometimes five hours even, if the queue to the UV Express or whatever before [was long]…” He tells me about how, on the UV Express, which is much like an airconditioned minivan but with nine or ten people jammed inside—sometimes even more—he has already quarreled with so many other passengers for all sorts of reasons, such as passengers picky with seats (“They want to sit on this side or that”), tipsy or even drunk passengers, or passengers who hog the air conditioning all to themselves. “The…very minor stuff, you see, which are really very annoying,” he tells me. He demonstrates people sleeping beside him in the UV Express, where sometimes they end up bending over him, getting him stuck in an awkward position. Looking back, he tells me he cannot imagine doing it every day, because of the worsening traffic and is relieved by the convenience he can afford by renting an apartment in Makati. “It’s… I have to choose, right? Save a little more money, you choose to save, but you’re really exhausted day in, day out. Or you kind of spend a bit more than usual, but the comforts of it [are there].” (Myk 2020) He says it also comes with the age, that he’d rather choose comfort these days and altogether avoid the troubles that everyday commuting in Metro Manila brings.

38

Figure 8. A photo of evening traffic in the rain. Traffic is one of the constitutive elements of Manila urban life, and one of the main challenges in mobility, as it takes hours and hours sometimes just to get somewhere. Photo taken by the author in February 2020 during an evening commute on the P2P bus.

39 ‘It’s really the time that eats you up’: feeling traffic through immobility and time

This subsection sheds light on traffic as a pulsation that is characteristic of the general commuting experience in Manila. I highlight it particularly because it is a critical element of these narratives collected, as already hinted at in the preceding sections. In order to get to work at eight thirty, Ina used to leave home at six thirty at the latest as according to her, “no matter what time you leave, after six-thirty am, it’s gonna be traffic.” (2020) Traffic is an inevitable constituent of commuting life in Metro Manila, and in essence forms one of the main rhythmic elements of the city. These commuters I’ve had conversations with have learned to live with it, but it does not necessarily mean that they are numb to its effects. As Ina explains it, “…it’s still, it’s still time. It’s really the time that eats up—that, that eats you up. Like, if you think, ‘Oh, God, it’s not moving.’ Like, even though I’m not the one driving, even though, you know, there are other people who are a lot worse off than me actually commuting, taking public transport, it’s still—it’s not the ideal situation. Just because it takes longer, because of the traffic. There are so many cars. There are too many cars.” (2020) This account suggests that commuting rhythms equate to having the commuter live through time, stretched out, almost bodily felt, on the road because of congestion.

But it is not only time that is to be endured in traffic and being on the road, but also the physicality of the commute in itself. This, for instance, comes in the form of rust and dust that, among other things, likely is to be encountered in the commute. Gianna, a thirty year old call centre employee, frequents the buses and jeepneys to move in the city, and tells me about the pollution that she is exposed to constantly, considering that jeepneys are typically open air and thus allows for its passengers to be more susceptible to smog: “…I took the jeep—it used to cost twenty-seven pesos going all the way to Makati, now it probably costs more—uhm, and then the pollution, when I get there, my white shirt isn’t as white anymore, I have rust stains on my polo.” (Gianna 2020) Her sister Bianca, a twenty-four year old professional who works for an events company and on the side works as an interior designer, tells me about taking the jeepney from home in Alabang to the nearby shopping centre. She admits that before being an avid passenger on the P2P bus she wasn’t one to commute like Gianna, and so this memory sticks to her: “I think that was when there was construction here on the main road of Zapote Road. It was horrible because it was hitting my eyes, the dust, and I was like, “I don’t like this place, I don’t like this—doing this.” And we were only going to like, S&R, I think. It was super near! It was super near [and] I hated it. I felt like I got ready for nothing.” (Bianca 2020) These physical manifestations of rust and dust clearly shaped the commuting experience that are an embodied, senseful reality for these two commuters. In Gianna’s case, as an office employee, a dirty polo can have a notable effect on the rest of the rhythm of her work day wherein she must otherwise look presentable and professional; in Bianca’s case, what should have been a short ride was fraught with the unfortunate sentiments of time wasted dressing up and looking nice.

40

‘Like how usual commuters do’: evading the persistent perils of commuting

“It is scary to commute.” (Nicko 2020) Nicko shares his clear sentiments about the perceived if not real risks of commuting by recounting a rather traumatic story on a jeepney: he and a friend were witness to a fellow passenger get held up by a thief. Fortunately he and his friend were spared, but the memory and the fear live on in Nicko’s mind. Nicko tells me that it is necessary for him then to blend into the commuting scene. Adopting a persona to protect oneself is essential to get home unscathed. “…Whenever I commute, I’d pretend that I know everything, I know how to go to this place. Because… I think when people see me and it’s obvious that I don’t know [how to commute], […] they’ll take advantage of me, like that, that I can be pickpocketed. So, I pretend that I already know where this place [is], I walk confidently… yeah. So it’s like I’m also prepared anyways, because before—before I go, I check too where I have to take a ride. So it’s something like that. Yeah, aside from walking confident, I don’t—because I—I think it helps, I think, uh… I don’t put my bag in front, like how usual commuters do. I put it in the back. But I put my valuables in my pocket instead so that I… I can feel that it’s, it’s with me. Like that… ‘cause… uhm, it’s like, I feel it—as long as I look confident that I—I know how to commute and I know how to go to this place, I think that I’m safer. And people […] won’t take advantage of me and what I have. There. Just so that I’m safe.” (Nicko 2020) Here in his narrative he talks about the way he needs to mimic the manners of walking, looking like he knows where he is and where he is headed, even carrying a bag, “like how usual commuters do” (Nicko 2020) to evade danger.

Ron similarly shares a night time tale of his near brush with danger at a bus terminal: “I came from a bar. And going home south… I knew it from afar… that, for example, one hundred meters away from the bus, I saw a shadow of a knife. I think that bus was uhm, held up. So when—that, that hold-upper was about to approach me, I know I had to go to—to the northern part just to run away first, just for, for safety. I ran straight to the—‘cause the overpass of the Magallanes MRT is the nearest way to escape on that and go northbound. I went there, to the northbound [terminal] and I checked. I checked from—of course, from the overpass you can check if the, the bus at the southbound [terminal] is already safe. I went back. (sic)” (Ron 2020) These anecdotes of coming so close to danger in commuting is important, as it impacts the ways in which the passengers must adjust themselves and negotiate the daily commute. Ron, in his case, was hyper aware of the suspicious activity he came across and therefore detoured; Nicko, meanwhile, associates fear and caution when describing the nature of commuting based on what he has experienced.

Gianna explains that one of the reasons why she started taking the P2P bus was for her own safety; she has since learned to fend for herself when necessary. “I only took P2P because I got held up already in the jeep—twice already so, you know, I’m kind of used to it. And then now ever since then, I always act like I’m the one who’s going to make them hold-up. That’s how I act now so that no one tries [to hold me up]. P2P I don’t, but all other commuting forms I act like I’m the hold-upper.” (Gianna 2020) There, in ripples of subconsciousness and paranoia—“I’m a paranoid commuter except on the P2P” (Gianna 2020, Michelle 2020)—the

41 commuter responds to a rhythm perceived as perilous by shifting his and her bodily response: for instance, hugging bags close and choosing not to sleep despite exhaustion (Sophia 2020).

Bianca shares how more subdued she feels she has to behave on other routes or other vehicles: “I have to act a different way. It’s very quiet; I feel like I have to watch my bag more unless I see a bunch of college students…” (Bianca 2020) In order not to stand out, the way commuters dress are a critical point as well. Bianca shares that she dresses down when she needs to go to the municipality of Manila. Her sister Gianna does the same: “And I always have to dress down, so at least in P2P, I don’t. If ever I have like a date or an event, I purposely ride P2P.” (Gianna 2020) Literally speaking, in addition to knowing how to behave, dressing up or down is intrinsic to commuting in Manila. Furthering this, I suggest that the knowledge to look and act like a commuter is and must be learned in order to keep safe, that habits such as ways of walking and carrying a bag are shaped in congruence with the rhythms in place.

In this section I wanted to demonstrate the real grit necessary in the nature of commuting in Manila. The experience is made up of fearing for one’s safety and doing things at all costs to secure oneself (detouring, putting up a pretence, dressing the part, being unable to sleep); having to fight it out for a more comfortable ride home; breathing in smog and dust; sitting or standing in a packed vehicle during rush hour; not knowing when or how the next jeepney or bus will arrive; and never really gauging when exactly one will reach one’s destination because of the traffic. There is no fathomable rhythm in the chaos of the commute and this, among other things that my interviewees narrated, is what the struggle of the commuter in Manila entails.

42 ‘On time, scheduled… I can sleep’: the intervention of the P2P bus

I begin this next theme with an excerpt from my notes, where I describe my personal encounter riding the P2P bus one morning. Among all other flurries of emotions and bodily reactions (such as rushing to the brightly lit terminal away from the darkness and keeping my bag close to me at all times), much like other commuters, it is a notion of finally arriving in a space construed as safe that enables me to sit comfortably in one of the rows as I await for this bus to depart. By beginning with a rather illustrative case like this, I then elaborate on several shifts of the experience of commuting via the intervention of the P2P bus. I also briefly touch upon infrastructure in this section and how it impacts the commuting experience of the commuter. The bus particularly can be seen as a site in which the multiple dots that everyday life consists of can be connected (Hartmann-Petersen 2018, 32)—interlacing and sometimes reshaping routines, patterns and activities between work and home. While some commuters continue established habits—listening to music, allowing one’s mind to wander, sleeping, texting friends, thinking of tasks to do at home or at work—I am also able to look at subtle changes in the way they negotiate their rhythms around the P2P bus.

Permission to relax: shifting patterns of awareness on the P2P bus

I am on high alert mode as I make my way to the bus stop. The sun has yet to rise (at 6:23 today) so it is still dark. So dark, as the street lights are sparse in this part of the city, despite the stop being inside a mall’s parking premises. My literal beacon of light is the bus stop (at this point, more makeshift-looking as ever, with its tarpaulin tent and monoblock chairs) and I am visibly put at ease when I reach the counter. I top up my Beep card with another 100 for the ride back later this evening. I tap it, now a bit more familiar where the beeping terminal is and what to do after. I ask the cashier if the bus up front, right beside the stop, is my bus that leaves at 6am. It is. When I tap, another cashier seated in front of it greets me with a good morning and politely offers me coffee. “Kape, ma’am?” I don’t register what he says. I am still a bit sleepy and yet ironically high alert. He repeats himself. I smile and politely decline. I enter the bus. I am put even more at ease to enter such a seemingly safe space lit with bright lights with air conditioning blasting strongly so early in the morning. (Field Notes, 2020)

A friend of mine joins me on the previously mentioned trip; as a bank employee in Makati, she takes this P2P bus almost every day of the week to go to the office, opting for the earliest available bus in order to avoid traffic on the road and the queue that typically builds up after the first bus departs. Sitting separately (I had arrived at the bus stop much earlier than she and so seats were slowly filling up with other passengers) we instead chose to message each other throughout the journey:

43

Figure 9. Waiting to depart inside the bus very early in the morning. In the morning, the bus, aside from the terminal, is the literal beacon of light. Photo taken by author in January 2020.

Figure 10. The Alabang Town Center bus terminal for the P2P buses. Photo taken by author in January 2020.

44 She texts, “On the early part not sure about the nice part but later you'll have a decent view of laguna bay I think.” And when the bus rolls out at six, she texts, “There, on time. Few things on time.” And then, “Okay you can relax for the next 25 mins or so. So far you can jot down that it left on time. Rare for the Philippines.” (Field Notes, 2020)

She points out a few things in our text conversation, all of which suggest a reordering or shift, such as twice emphasizing the fact that the treatment of time (and punctuality) on this bus, for instance, is upheld, almost jolting a feeling of incredulity—conversely juxtaposed against other things in the Philippines, where being on time is something usually taken to be rare. My friend tells me to keep an eye out for scenic scenes of Laguna de Bay from my bus window and thereafter to relax for the rest of the trip, suggesting how well she has mastered this thirty minute or so ride to Makati at six in the morning. On the P2P bus, she, as well as many others, are to a certain extent able to ascertain—even enjoy—rhythms of moving by commuting, those which were previously perceived to be illegible or messy.

Later on another day, in another ride from Greenbelt 1 to Alabang Town Center, I overhear someone counting the minutes until departure. It happens as such:

“Four minutes,” someone says in front of me. I look at my watch to see if he’s right. He is. The bus should be departing in four minutes. (Field Notes, 2020)

It was fascinating, this fixation on time. The ability to foretell estimated times and departures now was something to be impressed with, similar to how my friend made it a point that this was not normal. Bianca, for instance, marvels at the rough predictability she can now afford: “That’s the best part. I can tell like, people, “I’ll be there”—like yesterday I left for the nine thirty bus, I said, “Okay, I’ll be there at ten.” (Bianca 2020) She tells me another story of being able to catch the last bus of the night going home after catching a late night movie with a friend, and being so grateful that there was still the P2P bus to ride home. In another time where the P2P bus may not have existed, it would have been harder to even consider watching a movie in the evening as she had to make sure she had a safe way home. Time is less wasted, time is more certain, and she can fix her routine as such to make sure the commute home is less stressful.

For obvious reasons, the P2P bus is favoured upon by its passengers because of the reliability it offers. From a precarious journey—precarious precisely because of situations laid out in the preceding theme—the P2P bus offers a steadier rhythm, so to speak, that my interviewees have no trouble aligning themselves to. Though it comes with its own shortcomings—“it’s a band-aid solution…for something that the [public] sector should have… provided in the first place” (Michelle 2020)—it is for the most part a preferred mode where possible. As a general observation, people are at greater ease riding the P2P bus and are able to relax more, “because on the regular bus, people can stand beside you then you have to…watch for your stuff every single time” (Gianna 2020). To safeguard himself, Ron for instance is willing to pay more by choosing to ride the P2P bus: “Obviously it’s twice the price, but—but it is okay. You’re paying for the comfort, you’re paying for a newer bus unit, obviously.

45 And some[how] you’re also paying for your safety, especially if I’m bringing around a forty thousand 20 smartphone.” (Ron 2020) He also pays for his peace of mind even after disembarking, as there is a “chain reaction” (Ron 2020) that benefits his well-being: “When I’m going home from a media event, I’m not tired… I’m not tired arriving at my workstation, because especially you have to type that news right away. Especially in our niche where we race to be the first to post news…. So the P2P was a really big help. At least I’m not tired when I get to my workstation, I’m not haggard.” (2020)

Michelle shares her appreciation of the fact that she no longer has to deal with more obstacles, so to speak, on her commute to work when she takes the P2P bus. “…it’s like I can relax. Then after that, I get picked up and I’m good. That’s it. When you’re, you’re on your way to work, no one—there are no more obstacles, so to speak. It’s like, all you have left to do is just to walk. So yeah. So it’s… it’s relaxing in a way.” (Michelle 2020) Inevitably, she is able to better handle her personal schedule in a day as well. “I have more control over my time now because like I said, it’s because, your transition to other modes of transportation like the BGC Bus, you can’t control your time on that anyway. So another waiting time—at least this [P2P bus], one time wait—waiting schedule, then that’s it. It’s already okay. You’ll just need to sleep. What happens, happens. It’s like… you can’t really do much anyways about the traffic. Everyone is suffering from it anyway, so yeah…” (Michelle 2020) On the P2P bus, she is at least able to have the reins on a handful of her time, regardless of how other means of transport play out and affect the rest of her transit. She further describes the impact of her physical environment when commuting on the P2P bus: “…the chairs are very, very comfortable—the seats, rather. Then like I said, I appreciate that during the evenings, they dim the lights, so at least you can rest then you no longer hear any loud music, conversation… everyone’s asleep! So, right… it’s funny. So there. It’s like, that’s what I appreciate… that, that they do [that]. The simple act of dimming the lights and […] like, turning down the curtains. There… Like that. Unless of course you know each other, but your necks will be wrung if you’re noisy, right? Especially after a workday. Yes…If it’s morning, it’s like people just want to catch up on their sleep. If it’s in the evening too, same. No one’s talking. It’s like an elevator ride that’s okay.” (2020) It is precisely these smaller changes—dimming the interior lights minutes into the ride, shutting curtains where possible, keeping silent, keeping the TV volume low—that make the ride nuanced and creates a pleasant rhythm and experience while transiting. In the busy routine to and from work, the P2P bus provides a temporary respite for these passengers where, in the busy ongoings of their transit lives and beyond, they allow themselves to pause.

Myk, meanwhile, has noticed that he has grown more aware of time. “Since this P2P has a timetable, you grow more conscious, right?...I’ll make sure that I check if, if I can make it according to their schedule of departure. So I think that, that’s not something… you’d be conscious of if, if you just take the UV Express or you take the normal bus, right? ? Since this has a time schedule, you also get more conscious in that I’m like, “Whoa! Will I make it?”, if at what time their, their next schedule I can take is, you know?” (Myk 2020) There is a recognition of this shift in himself—a change in his reaction, his ways as a commuter, and how he handles

20 Roughly seven hundred sixty Swiss francs or eight hundred US dollars when converted.

46 time as a regular rhythm that he must now adhere to—which, as I would see it, is something he is glad to do.

Myk further tells me what he likes about commuting on the P2P bus. “Well, compared to UV21, [the difference is] great. [The difference in] comfort is great. For one, like I said, right now the buses are still new. And standing isn’t allowed [inside the P2P bus]. Everyone, all passengers, are required to remain seated.” (Myk 2020) I pause here to reflect on an instance where this coincides with what I later on observed on one of my rides, where a new P2P bus commuter—and I called him a ‘newbie’ in my field notes—appeared unsure, not knowing how to ‘act’ inside the bus as he stood in the middle of the aisle, and confused as there appeared to be no more seats yet no one else was standing. Later he was advised by the driver to pull down a folded seat in the middle of the gangway as no standing was allowed. The newbie commuter followed obediently. In the meantime, Myk continues. “Second, it’s faster. Faster. Faster because there are two points - I mean, it’s a point to point [bus]. There are no [multiple] stops. And the drivers are very strict in that they don’t allow stops just anywhere, even if it’s [at a] stoplight, they won’t allow disembarking, which is very, very effective for me. Furthermore for me it’s like, it’s also instilling discipline among Filipinos. Because we [Filipinos], we are very… we are used to going, ‘I’ll get off anywhere, anytime’, right? So there, I think, for me, the P2P bus is really okay [in] that aspect.” (Myk 2020) He appreciates the time he saves—“That’s really me, that’s my strategy in terms of commuting. The fastest that can get me from point A to point B” (Myk 2020)—and the directness of the trip afforded to him by the P2P bus, as compared to his having to endure all the ‘hassles of commuting’ (Myk 2020) and thereby succumbing to a rather chaotic if not cumbersome rhythm. While rhythm for him is very much hinged on one’s own pace, he explains that the ‘pace of the environment’ one is in also affects rhythm (Myk 2020)—in this case, rhythms flow into and impact one another, and so he respects, appreciates and even upholds this disciplined space that the P2P bus has created.

Bianca tells me she feels a different vibration in the air when she gets on the P2P bus and she describes her relief upon entering, knowing that the moment she sits down, her day is about to begin: “…when I’m there like, for a meeting, then I’ll just blast music, and then sometimes I’m in the middle, I’m like so pumped up, everyone’s so dead. You can like, feel the vibe. Some people are still dead, some people are still hyped. Yeah, but like when I see people who are in suits, it gets me more prepared ‘cause like, you’re surrounded by work—like working people, right? So, it gets me prepared like, “Okay, I got it.” I feel safe. It’s like a breather, ‘cause I chase after the P2P bus, to make sure that I don’t miss it, so the moment I sit down I’m like, “Okay. Okay, I’m on my way to work now.” (Bianca 2020) While her account may not be unique to only the commuters of the P2P bus (the same sentiment could very well be true of someone taking the train, for instance), what she describes to me nonetheless underscores the importance of the role infrastructure and space play in shaping commuting experience, in that it effectively contributes to how the commuter feels vibrations (to use Bianca’s term) and makes sense of them.

21 UV Express, another kind of minivan transportation, usually airconditioned and thus more expensive than the jeepney.

47

Figure 11. Disembarking from the P2P bus. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

Figure 12. A photo of the queue for the P2P bus taken at around six pm. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

48

This shift from uncertainty to certainty reverberates back and forth upon getting on and off the P2P bus. On Fridays Nicko uses the ATC-Greenbelt P2P bus to help secure a seat for his mother (an office worker in Makati) on the evening bus—he does this as a favour to his mother as this bus is inclined to fill up rapidly with other homebound workers. When he tells me how he gets of the bus, he describes his immediate change in behaviour the minute he steps off it: “Once I get off the bus, I need to be alert because I’m outside the bus. I—I’m not in a safe place anymore. Because I—didn’t I tell you earlier that the P2P is like, it’s really safe for me. It’s really comfortable. Like that. So once I get off the bus, it’s like—obviously my mindset is already different. My plan now is I have to… for example, if I have a place to go to, I have to go immediately to that place.” (Nicko 2020) I compare this with how Bianca gets off the bus: "I see myself transform […]—the moment I get off the bus, I remove my shades, remove my scarf, and then like, I just—and then I put my scarf into a belt, like—work mode is there already. I can see everyone just remove their jacket[s], pack back their umbrellas, like everyone’s just— everyone’s like, rushing. I love it. It—it’s like a high.” (Bianca 2020) The displacement of both commuters from the bus overhauls the way they carry themselves once more, albeit in different manners—Bianca sets herself up ready for work, while Nicko plays the role of the careful, high- alert commuter once more.

Still the P2P bus is not perfect. Sometimes they are closed for service without warning, as in the case of Myk who only found out on the day he wanted to take the P2P bus back to Alabang that the P2P bus wasn’t going to run that day. “Just my bad experience with the P2P – well, it’s not, well, not really the fault of the management of the P2P, but last December, I have to meet my high school friends in Alabang on a Saturday. And then apparently when I got there – I was even rushing at the time because I wanted to get to the nine am […], nine am schedule. When I got here, it was their Christmas party!” (Myk 2020) He doesn’t attribute it to a truly bad experience, but it was inconvenient in that they had no such announcements (“I didn’t see anything on Facebook – usually I check…”), and so he had to resort to going back to his old means of commuting via the regular bus. Sometimes it isn’t too on time as well because for obvious reasons, traffic on the road is beyond its control, and the higher the number of ridership gets, the more often these commuters have to work their way around the schedule of the buses to avoid queues, but they at least have worked out their own routines. Bianca describes to me what she does when this happens. “So when I would hit the rush hour, the first time, I was—I didn’t—I thought the line was super long already. But only one time [I] experienced a super long line when I first started taking it. And that’s when I realized, “Okay, I can never take, like the six thirty onwards.” So I—When it’s seven thirty, it is still okay. But five thirty, at six to six thirty to seven, I’m gonna avoid. When it’s seven, that’s when I can start walking…I would, at least I don’t have to wait so long. I already know, I drank already, I ate dinner, I can go home…” (Bianca 2020) Ina tells me to try taking the P2P bus at BGC after work hours, because she claims the wait for your turn to ride the bus back to Alabang is long. “People, I notice people download their Netflix shows already and they just watch it in line.”

49

Figure 13. Passengers on the bus from Makati to Alabang. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

50 ‘We share the same agony’: commuters shaping social rhythms on the P2P bus

We get off the bus. I remember the nondescript, rushed and informal setting of the drop-off. They were constructing a new car park, so all I could register was the corrugated hoarding, the rough asphalt, the literal corner of the mall that was neither welcoming nor really a place to be the minute you get off. No proper lights. No proper sidewalk. No bay. No one stops and dilly-dallies. Everyone makes their way elsewhere - to Alabang-Zapote Road, to Alabang Town Center, etc. (Field Notes, 2020)

I chose this field note excerpt to describe a moment of my getting off the bus. I could very well distinguish my own rhythms as a researcher and compare it to everyone else’s—I was never in a rush to get off the bus, for example, as I had nowhere else to be in the middle of my fieldwork. I did not move like everyone else, and whatever affinity I found with my co- commuters on the bus diminished the second I stepped off the vehicle. I moved more slowly than everyone else in an attempt to capture every little thing at once, but it was not a clever idea as we were quite literally on the road. So I followed everyone else, matching their pace, pretending I was rushing as well—I moved and acted like everyone else and somehow ended up joining a current of people already moving away from the bus in a determined manner. Thus this looks at how the interventions made by way of the P2P bus affects the connections that are made (or unmade). I explore this by scrutinizing the ways of behaving, ways of dressing, etc. I look at feelings of empathy, feelings of belonging (or unbelonging), etc. that have arisen.

To point out a basic matter, many of my interviewees informed me that they had heard of trying out and riding the P2P bus from other people or by way of social media (Ina 2020). Michelle tells me she vaguely remembers it was via word of mouth at the bus terminal at Market Market! Mall that she overheard someone talking about a particular bus that went straight to Alabang Town Center. This enabled her to try it, regardless of the cost and her lack of truly knowing anything about this new bus at the time, as all that mattered was that, “It’s okay, at least you’re already inside the bus” (Michelle 2020). Bianca, meanwhile, tells me that while her father had suggested taking the P2P bus, it was ultimately through a friend that she was convinced to try riding the bus. Taking note of all this suggested the general social nature of the P2P bus.

Ina explains that she likes being around “commuters who behave” (2020)—though this should not completely generalize that all other commuters on other public transportation options do not—as she feels safer to bring out her phone and allow herself to sleep on the bus. A general observation amongst the conversations I had was that those of whom my interviewees typically rode with were professionals who took this P2P bus route to get to work. In the words of Myk, these are people with whom he “share[s] the same agony” (2020) and that it is this shared affinity that contributes to the ambience found on the bus. “I feel more secure, you see: ‘Ah, in any case, all of these people, we’re just all alike, working in Makati.’ So, we share, we share the same agony, as how others would describe it [commuting]. So, like, in

51 that sense, you aren’t too conscious, unlike, if for example, you’re on the MRT or you’re in a public bus, where you’re like, “Shocks, I might get robbed here” or anything, right?” (Myk 2020) This also complements his view of commuters on the P2P bus having to acquire the skills of being disciplined commuters, in that he expects most people on this bus to learn to stay seated throughout the ride, keep their voices low and never demand the bus to make a stop on the road other than at the prescribed destination. Comparably, Michelle describes a kinship that seems to be built within the bus: “…I can say that I feel more relaxed in the P2P as compared to other modes of transport because… because the P2P is more… it’s like I can say that the market is localized, that it’s only here—it’s only these people. So it’s like, at a particular time schedule, the faces that you see, you also see on a regular basis. So if you lose something, you just ask. Then there. So—and I think it’s more, more secure.” (Michelle 2020) Their accounts suggest the prescription of a social responsibility to be good commuters, one that they expect not only from others but also from themselves.

Nicko echoes the same sentiments in that he feels safer riding the P2P bus. On the P2P bus, he allows himself to fall asleep because he’s less afraid of being robbed here than anywhere else. (Nicko 2020) As he usually takes the evening P2P bus between Greenbelt and ATC to meet his mother after work and reserve a seat on the bus for her, he notices others who fall asleep like him, most of them office workers on their way home. He tells me he “feel[s] that the P2P is really such a big help to them [the office workers], because they’re able to rest after work. Unlike when they’re on the normal bus, they get troubled because sometimes it’s a standing bus.” (Nicko 2020) Moreover, there is a sort of social responsibility he feels he fulfils in choosing to take the P2P bus: “I feel that it also helps with the traffic [situation] of Metro Manila, because I know that the normal buses really cause traffic because they stop everywhere, compared to riding the P2P that [doesn’t]… for example, I have to go… to uhm, SM Makati. But the [P2P] bus stops at Greenbelt. And we all know that the normal bus stop… when you get down from the normal bus, there’s [definitely] a place that you can walk to in order to get to SM Makati that’s much nearer. But I choose to ride the P2P to Greenbelt more because I feel it [causes] less traffic—it’s less of a cause of traffic. So what is just a bit of walking? Compared to having to affect the road [and cause more traffic]?” (Nicko 2020) By making the choice to walk further than intended and taking the P2P bus, he associates himself, even elevating his sense of responsible commuter, to a grander scheme of order and peace in everyday urban life.

As much as there are feelings of belonging, however, there are also instances of not being able to belong. Ron, who dresses “like a rocker” (2020), felt he was the one being judged on the P2P bus, especially on the ATC-Greenbelt route. He assumes that this feeling of being an outsider is because of how he looks and what he wears: “Actually, I notice it more that they feel alienated by me. Because this is my usual get-up. Most of my peers in tech, they usually have their suits, their amerikana22… but me, as a commuter, obviously, I—imagine, I can’t bear wearing an amerikana, even on the P2P, no, I can’t do it. I can’t do it. It will give me […]—I think, if I go [in an] amerikana on a daily basis in commuting, that’s a—that’s a security threat for me. That’s why I chose to be as this attire (sic). That’s what’s often noticeable… that most of the time, I’m with professionals. Obviously, in Makati [people wear] amerikanas… but they’re

22 A western suit.

52 kind of alienated by me…” (Ron 2020) Regardless of others’ perception of him, he pays no mind as he knows himself to be an otherwise model mobile citizen. “I’m more of a disciplined commuter, I’m not a headache to those beside me, even if I really look like a rocker. Perhaps they’ll get shocked… most of the time, the, the seat beside me is the last one to be occupied. It means one—just one seat [on the P2P bus] is left empty. Especially that Greenbelt area, they are alienated by me. But I just realized that, oh okay, I’m a disciplined commuter anyways. Don’t be scared of me.” (Ron 2020) Because he doesn’t look like the typical commuter on this route, he is automatically regarded with suspicion; he is a seeming disruption to the social ambience, at least on the bus.

In this section I wanted to emphasise the point that through the intervention of the P2P bus, there have already been small but significant changes in the way the commuters experience part if not all of the commute. This reshaping largely comes from the experience of time as felt by the commuters, where they are afforded more certainty to approximate time, know when to rush and when to avoid queues. It secondly comes in the form of the comfort and ease with which they are afforded upon being on the bus. Some of them palpably feel the security; others gauge it safe enough to bring out their phone or sleep without the worry of being robbed, because of the bubble of respite that the P2P bus provides. These accounts suggest the connections made and remade on the bus, the expectations of how one might and should behave while commuting.

53

Figure 14. P2P commuters waiting in line for the evening ride. This photo was selected to convey a sort of rush and movement as commuters line up while others, perhaps commuters themselves, rush by, move, etc. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

54 Recalibrating commuter rhythms

In this section I look at the ways in which the commuter’s rhythms, on the bus and beyond, stretching out into their personal lives, have been recalibrated by the intervention of the P2P bus. I make sense of the everyday transformations of my interviewees and how these have manifested. I learn how they make sense of themselves and how they take charge of their own ways of moving and commuting. “Perhaps… maybe it’s because I’m also not that prepared when I commute. Like when I… I just leave the house and go. Whatever happens, happens. I’m suddenly not sure, how do I commute? And how do I act?” (Nicko 2020) Inspired by Nicko’s moment of self-reflection, I try to understand these commuters mainly through their riding the P2P bus and how by doing so, they have changed.

Reinforcing work, family and self: the relation of commuters’ personal life rhythms with the P2P bus

Nicko associates his understanding of rhythm as a pattern of movement, relating the routine of a day to illustrate what constitutes rhythm for him: “Since we humans, we have plans for a day… it’s like, we have a pattern that simultaneously makes up our everyday life… It’s the same every day, like I… I wake up, I take a bath, go to school, go to the gym, like that. So I’d say rhythm is like that. Like in the everyday life of people, there’s rhythm.” (Nicko 2020) Nicko productively makes use of his time on the P2P bus by finishing work on the commute. “…Or for instance, I have requirements to do. Like on the P2P—because at our school we have a lot of online work that I need to submit. So sometimes, the submissions, for example [are due at] seven pm. I’m still on the bus from six to seven. Around six thirty to eight, let’s say I’m still on the bus. On the P2P I can still do my schoolwork. I can bring out my laptop. So it’s like—so it’s like, the P2P is really a different kind of help to me. Because if I were on a normal bus, I wouldn’t be able to bring out my laptop. It’s embarrassing—first it’s embarrassing, crowded and really dangerous.” (Nicko 2020) While others choose to unwind at the end of the workday, he finds himself in a continuation of his personal routine, bringing in the tail end of his school day onto the bus.

Myk meanwhile suggests that his family ties are reinforced, in that now he is more able to ascertain when he is able to go back home from Makati to visit his family back in Cavite. “…Because when I use the P2P, it’s like, there’s always a—I have to meet someone… from my family. I mean, that’s my, when I take the P2P, “Ah, I’m going home.” So I know I’m on my way home… to meet my family… that’s what…yes, that’s the meaning of my commute from P2P. Because it’s what I use it for.” (Myk 2020) He takes the P2P an average of four times (back and forth) in a month to come back home and tells me how the P2P has made him more mobile, especially in order to see family. “In a way, it helped me move, you see. I mean, it’s because Town Center is really our… family place on weekends. I mean, it’s our go-to mall. So, at least, if ever… if ever I intend not to go home all the way to Bacoor, I can [still] meet them there. Right? Like, I can meet them, even—“Oh, I can meet you Saturday night, as long as there’s a P2P [bus],” right? It’s easier for me. [It’s] because before it was like, “Shocks. How am I going to commute?” So, I think in that sense [the P2P bus] has been very helpful.” (Myk 2020) By

55 the intervention of the P2P bus, he can see his family more regularly and with more certainty, thereby maintaining, if not strengthening their bonds.

Bianca concurrently has realised that moving away from home and thus living on her own in the city was now a more feasible reality. At the same time, her motivation for working has gradually changed as she feels she has more agency in moving around. “It makes me want to go to work. ‘Cause at least—before, ‘cause like, when before even Crate & Barrel started, my thought—when I got the internship, I had to talk to my dad about it, saying like, “Wait. How am I gonna be able to do this? Maybe I shouldn’t accept it.” But now any… projects offered to me in Makati…or BGC, I automatically say yes already if I know I can do it. There was one time a company wanted to hire me but [in] Pasig for some interior design thing[…] and I—it was so hard to communicate with me, with my—with them—‘cause we were... like the manager was trying to even help me how do I commute there. Or drive there. ‘Cause even she was saying, “Better—bring a car.” But the thing is if you bring a car, there’s no parking. So either way, it’s still better to commute. So she—we were trying to figure out like there’s no P2P going to Pasig, so now, anything Makati, BGC, automatically yes. I feel like there’s more... like, opportunities for me now ‘cause of the P2P.” (Bianca 2020) Fulfilling work opportunities is intricately tied with her ability to be mobile nowadays, and this has enabled Bianca to be more in control of her life.

In a similar thread, Ina reasserts her independence by insisting on riding the P2P bus on her own. “I feel ashamed towards my parents if I can ask them if I can take the [family] driver,” she tells me. “It makes me feel a bit more independent. Like it makes me feel like I don’t have to, I feel likes there’s more freedom where I can go. Not fully yet, because it does get really traffic…Before I felt so—ten years ago, I would feel so enclosed. If I didn’t have a driver, I can’t get out of Alabang. Now I’d say I feel sixty per cent better because there’s the freedom because of the P2P. But there’s still that forty per cent missing because, okay, yeah, I can take the P2P now, but if I stay in Makati or BGC past five o’clock, how the hell am I gonna go home? Well, it’s gonna take an hour. It made me feel more, a bit more free, but not fully. Not yet there. You know, [not] the same freedom…” (Ina 2020) This reveals that by way of taking the bus she feels a lot more in control of herself these days, thereby reducing, if only for a little bit, her reliance on her parents when it came to her own mobility. She feels more free and by feeling not so enclosed in her home, she can afford to expand her reach in the city so much more.

At the time of our interview, Andro primarily designates Makati his central node and he proudly explains that he is able to navigate the city without the use of a car. “I treat it [the P2P bus] like a portal because I don’t drive. I hate driving and I hate that stress, so… and at the same time, the concept of mass transportation is like, appealing to me, because, you know, it’s like ditching individual cars, putting people in buses […] it’s the best—the best for me is it’s an alternative to the MRT. Especially when the MRT was breaking down a lot. The Galleria to Makati route was like, godsent because it helped—gave me access to Alabang. If that route didn’t exist, and I didn’t feel like biking, I’d have to bike all the way to the—either Market Market or Alabang, right? I’d have no access. There are times that I need to go to, to Alabang, or like I mentioned, places that have to take me farther, uhm, more than my usual bike

56 commute. So that’s why I started taking it. Also there are times [that] I take it because it’s more comfortable. It’s a, uh, it’s relatively… the price of the trip is uhm, acceptable. It’s not as exuberantly expensive, you see. And I’d rather take that rather than a cab […]” (Andro 2020) His shifts as a doctor make his days hectic, and so while he bikes for the most part, the P2P is usually the medium through which he is able to bridge further distances. More than this, however, riding the P2P bus is his intermission from the busy rhythm of his day. “I rest. I have a bit of motion sickness […]—not so bad, but I don’t watch [on my] iPad, I rest and listen to music, because it’s my time to—because, coming from a car driver23, right, you can’t rest on your commute if you drive a car… But if you’re on the P2P, or even—I mean, P2P in particular because it’s comfortable, you can rest. You can… It’s a pause. It’s like I use that time to maximize [rest] because I go on shifts [where it’s stressful] so whenever I go on the P2P, rest. It’s really rest. Recharge.” (Andro 2020) From thereon he resumes his pace again, having rejuvenated himself for the rest of his day. Furthermore, Andro’s personal advocacy, he shares, is to enable more people in Metro Manila to commute rather than to rely on private cars. He wants to “change people’s perspective on how a commute is, how commuting is, how it should be” (Andro 2020); together with biking and other means of day-to-day mobility, riding the P2P bus is for Andro another way in which he is able to demonstrate, live and elevate his cause.

Ron reaffirms his life priorities, telling me that the addition of the P2P bus, among other modes of transport that he has grown accustomed to, has only further emphasized that he does not need to have a car. “I have a house, but… buying a vehicle will be the last of my life priorities because—like, I am still okay as a commuter. Me, I’m aware that I’m a commuter. Either I go, go out—go inside [the] Manila area for leisure or for… obviously I’m a freelancer, that’s a consideration already. It’s already nothing to me. That’s why… those who bought their car—for sure those who bought cars, one of the reasons aside from the traffic [is that] they want to go out of the commuter label. Which is probably why they bought a car. Me, I can accept the fact that I’m a commuter because… it’s… it’s nothing, it’s just a normal thing. No— no big, no positive, no negative thing, no big, no small thing. (sic)” (Ron 2020).

Meanwhile, Gianna has since started paying more attention to her city. “I like—I like the whole P2P thing because before, I used to ride the jeep, I can’t really look around at the new restaurants and those stuff… Whereas if I take the P2P, that’s when I realize, ‘Oh, okay, we can go there next time. Or they’re opening something else. Or that one’s different.’ So I’m more, I’m more aware of the surroundings. You see billboards. You see the new buildings. And you say, “Okay, we can go there. Oh. Oh, that’s the condo of this person, or that’s the…so…” (Gianna 2020) It is a new way of attuning herself to the city, to recognising spaces that she otherwise would have failed to notice because of the hyperawareness towards risk that she had had to uphold while being on the commute.

In a similar manner, people, as I am told, are more open to interaction with pockets of the city outside of their usual realm of everyday life. Andro describes how the P2P bus has opened up the south of Metro Manila. “I’ve noticed people who actually just take the P2P to experience Alabang. How much is the toll? 122 [pesos via] Filinvest, 164 [pesos] if by Skyway.

23 Andro explains that until a few years ago he was a car driver.

57 Car, parking. If you wanna experience Alabang, food trip, Yushoken, Molito… stuff like that, freakin’ take the P2P. One hundred pesos. No, it actually opens up Alabang to—[…] it opened access to Alabang to more people… Some others, it’s like they really only go to Alabang to hang out.” (Andro 2020)

In the grander scale of things, Nicko tells me of how much braver he has gotten. “Now that I’m more familiar with Manila, I’m not… my fear of going around, it’s like it’s really gone. Because when I—when… the first I went to BGC, the first that I was only by myself, that time— when the P2P wasn’t yet existing, I was scared, of course, because I wasn’t familiar with the place. But with the P2P, it’s like I have no… I’m no longer scared, I’m more confident that I can go home alive.” (Nico 2020) He has since rehashed how to be a commuter and has somehow learned whatever rhythm it takes to be (or look) like a good one, and in some ways have been further empowered by using the P2P bus.

‘I think you move differently, when you know your rhythm’: reflections of the commuter

As part of my conversations with my interviewees, I asked them to describe what rhythm is to them as part of their being mobile. So in this section I gather some of the understandings they have of ‘rhythm’, and then examine, through other things they said, how they engage that rhythm in the way they move or act, mostly by way of the P2P bus’ mediation. Inviting my interviewees to reflect on their ways of commuting shed light on how they perceived rhythm in being mobile; some, such as Nicko, started ruminating about these embodied performances from the minute they left home, whilst some envisioned rhythm as larger a concept than mere routine that proved valuable to how they moved in other aspects of their commuting lives.

“I think you move differently, when you know your rhythm, when you know your flow and your pattern.” (Bianca 2020) For Bianca, she is able to fully grasp her rhythm as a commuter on the P2P bus, in that it is the medium through which she is fully able to take agency of her own mobility: “I always Google Map everything in Greenbelt now. Wherever the P2P stop is, I see like, “Okay, how do I get there from P2P?” Even if it’s like Pasay, or like, even Manila, if I had a meeting in Manila, I would base it in the P2P drop-off.” (Bianca 2020) Her identity as a commuter is generally hinged on riding the P2P bus.

Andro relates his commuting rhythm to a notion of freedom. Identifying largely as a bike commuter, “you ride your bike, you’ll pass by everyone who’s waiting for a jeep. You’ll pass by everyone who’s waiting for a taxi, for a Grab. Uh, freedom in terms of your time, freedom in terms of financial constraints because I save so much, freedom uh, in terms of, uh, being restricted in what I can and I cannot do.” (Andro 2020) Establishing and thus owning one’s own rhythm is key to mobility, freely moving across the city. The P2P bus is instrumental in expanding Andro’s rhythm, because it inspires choice in his own mobility and thus further empowers him, his sense of being, especially as a commuter. “I can be my own rhythm.” (Andro 2020) Bearing in mind rhythm, and commuting at that, being construed as freedom, Andro describes his grip on his own rhythm as a commuter. “It’s adaptable…I can complement, like when I shift through traffic, right, that’s me uhm, like, fitting in with everybody…but I can be

58 as independent because I am not stuck with—like if everybody is playing a bad note or a bad rhythm, I make my own because I know that’s—it’s perfect for me and it does what I wanna do as a commuter. But at the same time, adaptable, because for example, I can match my own rhythm with others, like people using the P2P. So I can change the way I commute in order to, to merge with other people… I’m able to, in terms of rhythm, I can be in sync with other people, then I can play my own rhythm afterwards.” He shares later that reattaching his rhythm completely to others—the exact situation of the typical commuter—would be suffering. “If I would reattach my rhythm, my personal rhythm to everyone else’s, I would really suffer. MRT, P2P, stuff like that, it’s suffering. It’s calvary.” (Andro 2020) One critical point is that while not entirely universal, the commuter has and can recognise his mobile potential, especially in the context of Manila, and thus perceives the city as more permeable and more welcoming. By recognizing one’s own rhythm, one is able to pattern and complement that of the rest of the city’s.

Truthfully, he admits that getting oneself truly acclimatized to the rhythms of the city is something riding the P2P bus cannot really accomplish; his being a biker is what gives him that opportunity. “The P2P won’t give you that—that perspective. Because you’re still in a vehicle. But biking really opened up Manila for me, you see? For example, if you bike around, uh—if you bike around Pasig, if you pass by the Universal Robina24 area, if you pass by the Universal Robina area, you can smell it—it smells like biscuits in the morning. You wouldn’t be able to smell that inside a car. Or for example if I go to let’s say, Makati, Legazpi, Salcedo, the restaurants there, you just park and lock your bike on a post, then eat inside one of them […] Uhm, it gives—it, it, it—I mean, hear—hear, smell, feel Manila. Really. Even the freshly showered women who wait for a jeep, I can smell that. So it opened up Manila, the soul of the city for me. As a commuter… And I—especially when I bike going home, I feel the vibe of the city. Weird, but I mean, not a lot of people get that. I mean, I get to explore a lot more on a bicycle. So it’s—it opened up what Manila is for me because, for me, being a commuter, actually, is being… it’s like, closer to what the soul—ah, to what the city’s soul is than being a car driver.” (Andro 2020) Taking note of this, I look at the materialities that he points out in order to illustrate the make-up of Metro Manila: the sights, the smells, the sounds, all of which make a dent as to how he is able to bodily make sense of the rhythm of the city that he commutes through daily.

To conclude this section, in examining how commuter rhythms are calibrated, I looked at personal life rhythms as elaborated above, together with transformative changes in the life of the commuter beyond but still very much hinged on the commute. I looked at how my interviewees gained knowledge and agency over how they moved and of their mobility in a city context like Manila where mobility, in general, is often disrupted and imperfect.

24 A locally renowned food snacks manufacturer.

59 Discussion

The previous section highlighted four main themes that were made prominent during the fieldwork. I explored the ways in which the commuter was perceived in the context of Manila, as described by my interviewees and further nuanced by their own encounters. I identified the chaotic challenges of the commuting scene in Metro Manila, described by my interviewees through various encounters with danger, pollution, congestion, waiting, discomfort and not knowing exactly when the commute would start and end. I examined the circumstances experienced by the commuters on the P2P bus by its mediation. I studied the recalibration that the P2P bus intervention brought about with regards to commuter rhythms, and analysed how their personal life rhythms beyond the commute had transformed, and how they conceptualised rhythm as informed by their embodied and singular experiences. Thus I return to my question at hand: what are the ways in which the P2P bus is experienced by the commuters? I investigate how it recalibrates their rhythms, i.e. their times, their pace, their emotions and their manners of moving.

The analysis of rhythms

Henri Lefebvre’s work and interest in rhythms highlighted its essential role in the making and the operations of the city as we know it; furthermore, the analysis of rhythms ‘provides a privileged insight into the question of everyday life’ (2013), which I undertake through the commuter figure who lives and encounters these rhythms. Drawing from the notion of rhythmanalysis, I now analyse how these rhythms have been recalibrated through the mediation of the P2P bus. While my intention is to utilise the rich concepts of rhythms as brought about by Lefebvre’s work, I wish to highlight that, as illustrated in the narratives in the previous sections, the meanings of rhythms and how we make sense of them are very much malleable, especially when considered on the scale of the everyday and nuanced with singular experiences such as those found in the commuting life situated in Metro Manila. Thus there are three particular rhythms from Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis that I draw from to analytically discuss my thesis, namely, eurythmia, the state of good health of a body (2013, 77); linear rhythms, referring to imposed structures and the monotony of actions and movements (2013, 18); and polyrythmia, referring to when a body has diverse rhythms that coexist (2013, 96). I use these rhythms in order to make sense of precisely how the P2P bus’ intervention reshapes and recalibrates the commuter’s experiences and rhythms.

Achieving eurhythmia with the intervention of the P2P bus

‘Intervention through rhythm… has a goal, an objective: to strengthen or re-establish eurythmia’ (Lefebvre 2013, 78). Eurhythmia, according to Lefebvre, is a state of good health, but in matters of the living body, in which numerous associated rhythms reside (Lefebvre 2013, 78). I begin with this rhythm, despite the fact that it is the seeming end goal of rhythmanalysis. I do so because, when applied to my study, it is a question of whether or not the P2P bus has achieved such an ideal equilibrium of rhythms, so to speak, such that these commuters whom I have spoken to have ultimately been left in a state of good health by way of their integrating the P2P bus in their commute. Once more I contend that there is an elasticity to the meaning

60 of rhythms, so in terms of commuting rhythms, as I have unpacked in the previous chapters, good health would translate to the following: a sense of peace, a sense of relief, an absence of fear, a sense of achievement and accountability for one’s own rhythms, and the instilling of confidence in the commuter figure. We have seen Andro utilise the time he has on the P2P bus to take a break from the rhythms of his busy day, and we have seen Nicko essentially change his mindset to be more open-minded about daring to explore other areas of the city by way of commuting. Myk extends his notion of comfort in lifestyle to include the P2P bus because he is able to live his mobility the way he wants to and can, and by doing so, he also maintains, if not strengthens the bonds he has with family who are otherwise situated far away from him. ‘Comfort is also an embodied experience; thus comfort is expressed as a relational experience between the space, the image, and bodily practices.’ (Jain 2011, 1021)

The attainment of eurythmia is dependent on ‘flexible, adaptive rhythms’ in that ‘achieving eurhythmia relies on our ability to adapt to our environments: our tendency to calibrate our rhythms to those around us’ (Adhitya 2017, 31). By adapting their rhythms to the reshaping of their overall commuting experiences on and by way of the P2P bus, we see commuters whose own rhythms adapt to fit other rhythms present in their lives. For instance, Bianca is able to attune the rhythms of her professional career to that of her commuting life, expanding the horizons by which she is able to move forward in her work. We hear Ina commit to her sense of independence and live it, because the P2P bus and its intervening in her personal life helps sustain, if not cultivate it. Andro literally adapts his own rhythms as a bimodal commuter, breaking away and coming together when needed, to fit and work with rhythms external to him, one of which is those that have been produced and transformed by his use of the P2P bus. His advocacy for public commuting is well complemented by the intervention of the P2P bus, because not only is he able to preach his principles as a commuter, but he is also able to demonstrate the uplifting possibilities of commuting life in Manila, a strong belief which feeds into his very being as a commuter figure.

I examine these rhythms, obviously, from an external perspective, and in my analysis I would contend that a form of eurythmia is attained, as evidenced by some of the examples outlined above. However, ultimately, taking inspiration from Adhitya, I thus ask ‘whether the [intervention of the P2P bus] support[s] [commuters’ rhythms] or work against them, for only the [commuter figure] can understand the effect through [the commuter’s] bodily experience’ (Adhitya 2017, 24). This is an invitation to reflect upon our own rhythms as it is only ourselves who will ultimate know what we feel through our bodies and from there adjust accordingly to reach this ideal state of wellbeing.

Linearising commuting rhythms

This section seeks to answer, theoretically, the question of what changes in the commute by way of the P2P bus. The overall chaotic, arrhythmic patterns of the daily commute, of the experience—arrhythmia being a lack of a synchronisation, ‘where rhythms break apart’ (Lefebvre 2013, 77)—are brought together and linearised to significant extents on this bus. Michelle is able to reduce transfers in her daily commute and is able to manage her own time more efficiently. Ron has less fears of theft, even willing to shell out more money just to secure

61 himself. Gianna and Bianca allow themselves to relax tremendously on the P2P bus, even managing to dress up a little more nicely, because here they have less to be cautious about. The chaos of the commuting scene when it comes down to behaviour is tamed to notable degree, because here rules are implemented and rules are surprisingly followed, to the pleasure of Myk. No one stands, and when all seats are full, no other passengers are allowed to alight in favour of safety. There is only one destination, and no stops in between; Myk expects no one to dare ask the driver to alight at a red stop light.

I underline the absence of repetition, that which simply defines rhythm, in the day-to- day commute of the commuter. We see Michelle lament the degradedness of the commuting infrastructure as it is today in Manila, even calling the commute demoralising to the commuter. We hear her tell, in a humorous way, how the commute is somehow made to feel like a box from which no one knows what they’ll be pulling out the next time; we see her commuting rhythms on the regular bus possess a dissonance—sometimes it offers a short commute, but sometimes it offers a ridiculously long commute, and on the unfortunate occasion, the bus never arrives. In highlighting this I stress the weight of what the P2P bus is able to do in transforming, in small but significant ways, the commuting experience for the commuter, in that it is at least for the most part offers consistency.

‘The manipulation of time also affects experience and emotions’ (Adhitya 2017, 37). By upholding schedules of bus departures, for instance, it was made obvious by several accounts how impressed these commuters were at the strictness to adhere to times, especially because it is a glaring issue in the otherwise bigger context of Manila’s commuting scene as I have earlier portrayed. The shift from uncertainty to certainty on and by way of the P2P bus is a welcome thing to impede the obstacles of Manila commuting life. Lefebvre describes linear rhythms to be ‘monotonous, tiring and even intolerable’ (2013, 85), almost disparaging them, but my findings indicate that in a sea of arrythmia that is the challenge of the everyday commute in Manila, this is precisely what commuters appreciate—repetitive, predictable, consistent rhythms. The bus provides a schedule to which commuters can refer and plan their routines around; it is clean, comfortable; the air conditioning is reliably functioning; there are no surprises along the route, no intermediate stops. All these little elements form a rhythm on which its commuters can depend. This is exactly what the P2P bus offers in its form of transport, in its regularity, in the small sections of the city through which it cuts.

Engaging polyrhythms: coexisting rhythms

I move on to the third and last rhythm in my analysis, polyrythmia. Polyrhythmia pertains to ‘a unity that encompasses a multiplicity’ (Chen 2017, 5). It refers to a body that possesses multiple, diverse rhythms that coincide and work together (Lefebvre 2013, 98). Lefebvre helps us to understand polyrhythms by looking at the surface of the sea (2013, 88): the sea, made of ripples and waves, each possessing its own sets of rhythms, while at the same time sea moves in its own rhythm. Thus I discuss polyrhythmia in two ways – first, in a micro scale with regards to its relation to the bus and the commuters on it, and second, in a macro scale where the P2P bus is then placed in relation to the rest of the city. ‘Rhythmanalysis operates by oscillating within the push-pull relationships of singular rhythms (of a centre, an

62 entity, a group) and the ways in which they weave within the polyrhythmic ensemble’ (Chen 2017, 10).

On the bus itself collective rhythms can be understood as a periodic synchronization of the activities of different people (Kuoppa 2013, 161); we have seen the diversity of experiences and rhythms through the narratives of these commuters, and we have seen how the P2P bus produces and influences rhythms. We have seen their rhythms be unique, differentiated from others. Each ride on the P2P bus is thus polyrhythmic. ‘Acquired rhythms are simultaneously internal and social’ (Lefebvre 2013, 84); we process our own internal workings of emotions and bodily activities and at the same time these rhythms that we produce influence the others around us and vice versa. Bianca feels the ‘vibe’ of the commute once she is on the bus, revelling in it as she prepares for a day of work; she is a boisterous commuter when compared to others, but their rhythms coexist and align themselves somehow on the bus. It is the meeting of one rhythm with another (Adhitya 2017, 14).

Ron, simply because of the way he dresses up looking like a rocker with hair past his shoulders, dark shirt and jeans and a cap worn backwards, has a rather massive effect on the rhythms of those around him. He appears intimidating, almost suspicious, not at all like those of whom wear office clothes on the bus. But he refuses to be retrained, in the tradition of dressage, ‘the process by which one temporal rhythm is captured and modified by another’ (Adhitya 2017, 32). The effect is that no one, if they can help it, chooses to sit beside him. But he knows himself as a commuter—the way he dresses is the way he protects himself from the other more unknowable, dissonant rhythms that he may encounter outside of the P2P bus. He knows himself too, in that he is disciplined, and that he is not to be regarded as a disruption to the rhythmic ambience that the P2P bus has created. As a figure of the commuter, Ron produces his ‘own temporalities whilst ignoring or conforming to larger, collective […] patterns, thereby simultaneously contributing to the (changing) rhythms of place (Edensor 2016, 192). ‘When we synchronize our routines with others, we also mark and perform our relationship to larger collectives’ (Kuoppa 2013, 161).

Finally, a discussion of polyrhythms links the P2P bus to Metro Manila and its commuting patterns and rhythms at a larger scale. I discuss this question of linkage last because ultimately an analysis of the P2P bus and the rhythms that it produces and reproduces has to be framed in the larger network of traffic and commuting rhythms that are simultaneously colliding and coexisting already in Metro Manila. The P2P bus is a partial solution, a fairly good start, to what is hopefully the catalyst for change in what constitutes commuting practices and transport infrastructure in Metro Manila; however, it is nonetheless a mere drop in the pond, a mere segment of many undertaken by commuters daily, one of many rhythm-producing and rhythm-changing elements of an already dynamic commuting scene in a megacity context. It is not the ultimate panacea to the challenges of commuting life in Metro Manila. Nonetheless , for those commuters who can access it, the system offers tremendous transformative capacities experienced in small, everyday ways that reshape, in part, the figure of the commuter in this mega-city context.

63 Conclusion

In this thesis I explored the ways in which the commuting experience has been shaped by infrastructure in the case of the P2P bus, where I demonstrated that the how and in what means commuters go about commuting has an evident effect on how they embody the practice of commuting. Material things lend themselves to how practices are embodied, as Spinney reminds us (2010, 116) and simultaneously to what the commuter directly experiences. As Jiron suggests, ‘…the space inside can indeed be appropriated and signified; that is, the train, aeroplane or automobile can become meaningful spaces in themselves’ (2010, 130); in my work, the P2P bus is a critical space and actor that, in its intercession between the commuter and the challenges of Manila’s commute, actively transforms the experience for the commuter. ‘Practices of moving on, through or by those spaces may thus enrich people’s urban experiences, making them valuable and irreplaceable.’ (Jiron 2010, 142-143) For others like Michelle and Andro, it is a place of temporal respite; for Nicko, it is a place that is not only safe but is productive for him to continue working on things left unfinished from school.

To understand how these experiences have been recalibrated and how the commuter has been changed, I used rhythm as an analytical instrument. ‘The definition of rhythm was extended to all other workings and aspects within the space of the everyday, reinforcing the notion that rhythm constitutes the basis of everyday life’ (Meadows 2010, 84) ‘What routine feels like, how it is experienced, is by no means clear…because routine is not only dictated from above. We establish our daily routines to give our lives rhythm and predictability.’ (Highmore in (Middleton 2011, 2867) The use of rhythmanalysis to understand the everyday has been used in other forms of embodied everyday activities such as in Middleton’s (2011) and Chen’s works on walking (2013), and Platt’s analysis of urban rhythms through skateboarding (2018).

As has been previously discussed in the literature and in the more comprehensive section on specific conceptual rhythms, I showed that rhythm is a useful tool to understand not only the workings of everyday life as Lefebvre champions, but also the transformative potential of humans to be ‘rhythm-makers’ (Edensor, 192). It is also through the human body we are making sense of rhythms: ‘rhythm appears as regulated time, governed by rational laws, but in contact with what is least rational in human being: the lived, the carnal, the body.’ (Lefebvre 2013, 19) It is the body that feels everything, that senses the fear, the calm, the heat, the discomfort, the tremendous challenges of the daily toil that is commuting. In all this it is the body that adapts itself to the situation, retraining oneself in the manners of dressage (Lefebvre 2013) to fit in between and coexist with all the multiple rhythms available not only within the bus but in the greater context of the city. Thus it was critical in my study to use the figure of the commuter in order to not only examine the experiences which have been reshaped, but also to identify and unpack the commuting rhythms that have been recalibrated by the intervention of the P2P bus.

There is merit in analysing rhythm and thereby focusing on the commuter as a way to see how rhythm matters largely in the everyday workings of our transit life. ‘Our rhythms insert us into a vast and infinitely complex world, which imposes on us experience and the elements

64 of this experience.’ (Lefebvre 2013, 91) Rhythm, as lived and comprehended by the commuter, has multiple interpretations and possesses an elasticity in meaning as we have seen in the narratives shared in this thesis. ‘Over time, and through repetition, what we experience becomes part of who we are, and who we are comes to be part of the environments we move through.’ (Bissell 2018)

Therefore I argue that the commuter as a figure of mobility, and particular to this study, the figure of the Manila commuter, has a crucial role to play in the transformation of urban life. He or she is the mobile figure who has to withstand the erratic, often tangled nature of commuting life in this city, and therefore his or her experiences are unique and significant as these experiences of commuting are undeniably an extraordinary, unique kind of lived experience (Salazar 2017). To add the commuter to the list of key figures is a logical move, because of how prolific and essential the activity of commuting is to urban life today. It is through the commuter that we are able to make sense of the ways of commuting as an embodied everyday experience.

Commuting in Manila as I have demonstrated in this thesis is a trying, but also changing, experience. Through the stories I collected, I portrayed images of the commuting experience as encountered by commuters to be coloured with danger, inconveniences and discomfort, to the point that the commuter, while a hardworking urban figure, is almost always at a disadvantage and at the mercy of the arrhythmia of Metro Manila. But as a singular experience, ‘exploring the habits of everyday urban mobilities such as the daily commute not only highlights the complexity and ongoing reconfiguration of these journeys beyond analysis informed by rational intention but the way this form of engagement makes it possible to analyse the significance of how each part of the journey opens up into the next as a series of sequentially organized and occasioned events.’ (Middleton 2011, 2857) Commuting on the basis of the P2P bus in Manila, makes visible the production and reshaping of experiences and rhythms of the commuter, building a situated understanding (Spinney 2010, 122) of rhythms of the commuter and his commuting experiences in this city.

Commuting as a form of mobility is constitutive of modern urban life. Though differentiated in the lived experiences practiced and produced in each place, it is a critical activity that shapes everyday lives and forms of mobility, a practice and dynamic that shapes cities across the world.

65

Figure 15. The commuter, the bus, the city. Photo taken by the author in January 2020.

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71 Appendix: Interview Transcripts

72 6 JAN 2020 I: But you know, it’s still, it’s still time. It’s really the time that Transcribed Interview with Ina eats up—that, that eats you up. Like, if you think, “Oh, God, Venue: Exchange Alley Coffee House, Molito, Alabang, it’s not moving.” Like, even though I’m not the one driving, Muntinlupa even though, you know, there are other people who are a lot 14:00 worse off than me actually commuting, taking public transport, it’s still—it’s not the ideal situation. Just because it takes longer, because of the traffic. There are so many cars. There are too C: For the purpose of recording, what’s your name? many cars.

I: Ina. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have any particular anecdotes from that time, like anything that stood out from you? A C: And then your age? memory, a funny story, or just something that stood out to you from that time when you were being driven? I: 29. I: Ah. I would always get high blood—I would always get C: And your occupation? anxiety when we were on C5, because for some reason, everyone wants to cross the street! Sorry, they wanna cross the I: Say entrepreneur na lang. highway! I don’t know why people do that! They always wanna cross the highway. Every morning, someone would cross the C: That’s fine, that’s true. So where are you from? highway; it’s so dangerous and it’s so, like—someone’s gonna get hit one day. One time someone did get hit and it caused I: Alabang. traffic—

C: Okay, and where do you live currently? C: You saw it?

I: Ayala Alabang. With my parents. I: No. I didn’t see the person getting hit, but I saw the traffic that happened because someone got hit. C: Okay. So before the P2P, how did you get to work, or around, and how did you commute? So, commuting here C: Okay. would mean taking your own car, being driven to and from wherever, riding the bus— I: So, you know.

I: Driver. C: Now, how do you go to work, or how do you get around?

C: Driver, okay. How was that like? I: Oh, car.

I: Expensive. For my parents. C: You drive?

C: Uh-huh… I: If it’s in Alabang lang.

I: Uhm, I guess I was just lucky, because I’m still living with C: Ah, okay. You’re not allowed to drive outside or what? them, and you know, medyo well-off naman, and they don’t want me to commute, because you know it’s dangerous. I used to I: My parents want me to drive outside, but I’m too scared. I bring my laptop to work everyday, so it’s not something you got into a car accident a few years ago. want to bring with you on a jeepney or on a public bus. So it was… it was convenient. Like it was the most convenient way C: Oh, okay. I’m so sorry. to get to work for anyone, having—being driven. It was the most convenient way to get there. But… yun nga, it’s expensive I: No, it’s okay, it’s okay. It was a really dumb accident. I was and no matter what time you leave, after six-thirty am, it’s parking—I was trying to park facing the wall, and instead of gonna be traffic. I used to work in BGC, so on a non-traffic hitting the brakes, I hit the gas. day, Alabang to BGC in a car, siguro mga thirty minutes lang. C: Oh, okay. C: Ah, okay. I: So now every time I’m behind the wheel, I always have to I: But if I would leave six thirty am on a Monday after a long double check: am I gonna hit the right one? weekend… I’d leave at six thirty, I’d get there before eight. So that’s kinda long. C: Okay.

C: Yeah. I: Pero when I go outside, I usually just go to BGC or Makati anyway. I: That’s like, that ate up an hour and thirty minutes of my day already. It’s not—I mean, I’m comfortable. C: So you drive to those places, or you still get driven?

C: Yeah. I: I get driven to those places, to the mall, and then I take the bus.

- 1 - C: Okay, okay, alright. Uhm, when did you start taking the behave, who have manners. And I also noticed a bunch of titas P2P? there, lolas… lolas of Alabang, you know. I felt very safe. I felt like I could just leave my phone on my lap, I’d fall asleep, and it I: When it started. wouldn’t get stolen. ‘Cause I’ve had my phone stolen before, in the MRT. C: Ah, okay. C: That’s always—yeah. Yeah. I had mine stolen on a jeep— I: The moment it started. I: Oh, shit. C: How did you hear about it? Or was it a word of mouth thing? C: Yeah, and I didn’t even notice it. I was so angry after.

I: Ah, Facebook! I: Oh, God. So sneaky.

C: Facebook, okay. How did you start taking it? C: Yeah.

I: I saw it on Facebook, then I read a lot of reviews, and they I: So yun, I just remember that it was very comfortable. Very said na it was fast lang, clean bus, so I was like, ‘Okay! Sige. I’ll convenient. And I liked that there weren’t a lot of stops. So— try it out.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, not bad! Not bad.’ it’s literally point to point. One minute you’re in Makati, in thirty minutes, you’re in Alabang. It was pretty great. C: Which route did you take? C: Was there anything that you had to get used to that was kind I: Makati. The first one I took was the Makati one. Uhm, of hard? Like maybe paying, or I don’t know, the way that you Skyway, Don Bosco, Greenbelt. It was okay. needed to board, or pay for the fare, or something?

C: Do you remember the first few times that you took it? Did I: Uso pa kasi cash dito eh. Siyempre you have to take your wallet any memories stand out for you, like—maybe the bus, how it out. They do have the Beep tap card, pero sana like, there was a felt? more convenient way to load up the card. Not just GCash. It’s too… parang masyadong enclosed, like there’s no, like, one I: It felt like I was in Singapore. universal platform, online platform to… so, for example, I would love to do it via my BPI app. C: How come? C: Yeah, that’s true. I: Kasi the bus looked like the buses in Singapore! I: Yeah. Something more convenient, something more open to C: Oh, that’s true! Okay, okay. everyone. Instead of having GCash, or PayMaya (??)… I wish it was more integrated, the payment, the loading up system. I: ‘Cause when I worked back then in Makati, the first time I took it, [I was] from seven to four [pm]. So four o’clock, I C: How often do you take the P2P now? would walk to the P2P Station and then I would take the four thirty pm bus. I’d be back home, back in, in Town Center at I: Right now? Whenever I have a meeting, or something or five. It was really fast. Kasi five o’clock pa lang. gimmick in Makati or BGC. So I would say, two times a week? Three max. C: Yeah, yeah. So wala pang traffic. C: Oh, okay. That’s actually pretty frequent. I: Yeah, not much traffic. I: Yeah, it’s pretty frequent. Yeah. C: Could you elaborate more on that experience? Or on those memories of the first few times that you took it? C: Okay, okay. Can you compare the first few times that you took the P2P to your experience nowadays? Like is there I: Uhm, I really liked the four thirty bus, because there wasn’t something different, or are you more frustrated in certain much people. So it was, it was relaxing. I could take a nap, I aspects…? would take a nap. I’d leave my phone out on my lap like that— that’s how much I trusted the system. And I noticed that the I: There was this one time. One Saturday, I was coming out people on board were—they were like me. Like, you know, from a date in BGC. It was a Saturday. It was my first time they probably lived in Ayala Alabang also. taking a P2P home from BGC on a Saturday. And I went to the—this is Marice’s company. She owns HM! C: Yeah. C: Yes! Yeah, I know. I: They…… they were… okay, sorry for the term, but they were also conyo. You know, people from Woodrose, from I: You should also ask her. Southridge… you know, the same… people like us. I don’t mean to be—I don’t want to sound elitist or anything but you C: I will. Ni-like nga niya yung post ko. Sabi ko, Oh shit, maybe she know, like sometimes, when you go to freakin’ SM Megamall, thinks I’m gonna be attacking her company. people are very crude, very loud, you know, so…you know, it’s nice to be around commuters who behave, who know how to - 2 - I: You know one time I left my ano, my lunch box on the BGC Those are the things that I appreciate when I’m in another bus, I messaged her, ‘Marice, naiwan ko yung lunchbox ko.’ Sabi country, a first world country. You know, the little things. niya, ‘O sige, ako na.’ She handled it for me, I got it back. It was a nice lunchbox! Anyway. Anyway, so I walked to Market C: Yeah, which is also why I’m actually focused on this Market (that’s where the stop is), and then I go to the usual transport thing, because it’s something that’s so different from station and then they said, ‘No, on Saturdays, it’s over there.’ It when you’re here. was like, what, three hundred meters away. Daming tao! So I had to like, wade through some people, then I found it, and I sat I: Yeah. down and was like, ‘Okay, I’m here.’ And then they said, ‘Ah, this bus is gonna stop muna at South Station, and then Alabang C: Yeah, when I was taking this masters up, I was like, ‘You Town Center. And then I was like, ‘Ah, okay. That’s weird, but know what, no matter what the masters is, I’m gonna focus on hindi na siya P2P. But okay. I’m gonna go home.’ That was transportation just because it’s such an interesting topic when weird. That was, it took longer than usual. That’s only on you’re outside of Manila.’ And when you get to see examples of Saturdays daw. it that are so good and when you have this in Manila where it’s… not the best example at all. C: Other than that, do you notice anything new about the P2P now? I: Yeah. It’s very political din.

I: Humahaba yung pila. C: Yeah. That’s true. Are there some things that you notice on your commute on the P2P, like anything that stands out? C: Talaga? I: That stands out? I: Ng 5:00. If you’re there na at five o’clock, you probably won’t be able to ride until six. C: Yeah. It doesn’t have to be a big thing.

C: Ah. I: Ah, okay. Well, the main difference between the one—di ba iba yung papunta sa Makati at yung papunta sa BGC? They’re I: Kasi traffic. different companies. Mas sosyal yung papuntang Makati. Walang TV. Yung papuntang BGC may TV, and they always have it on C: Wait, here in Alabang, or in BGC? Channel 2. So I end up watching these teleseryes. When I used to work in BGC, I’d take the BGC going home. So I end up I: Makati or BGC. watching those daytime teleseryes.

C: This is different from my earlier question, but why do you C: So updated ka? take the P2P now still? I: Updated ako! Mga Koreanovelas! Interesting lang. The one going I: Ah, okay. Nahihiya kasi ako sa parents ko if I ask them if I can to Makati, there’s no tv. And ito pa: they always say there’s WiFi take the driver. To assert my independence! on the bus, but it never works.

C: Yeah, okay. Okay. Makes sense. How do you think your day C: Ah really? But it’s supposed to— to day life has changed? Or at least your weekly life? I: It’s supposed to work. I: Well, it makes me feel a bit more independent. Like it makes me feel like I don’t have to, I feel like there’s more freedom C: --be a feature. where I can go. Not fully yet, because it does get really traffic. You know how like, when you’re in other countries, like Tokyo I: Yeah, it’s supposed to be a feature. Kasi it’s there na. When – ay countries, that’s a city – cities like Tokyo or Singapore, in you look, it’s WiFi available. Then you try, then wala. Korea… all these other Asian countries… ang gaganda ng transport nila. Ganda ng train. So convenient to go everywhere. C: How has taking the P2P changed the ways in which you Before I felt so—ten years ago, I would feel so enclosed. If I know Manila? Do you think you know Manila better? Did it didn’t have a driver, I can’t get out of Alabang. Now I’d say I open your eyes to something? feel 60% better because there’s the freedom because of the P2P. But there’s still that 40% missing because, okay, yeah, I can I: It made me realize how privileged I am. Kasi, when you’re in take the P2P now, but if I stay in Makati or BGC past five the bus naman kasi, you see the people lining up for the jeep. o’clock, how the hell am I gonna go home? Well, it’s gonna Haba ng pila. And then you just think, ‘Ah, thank God. Thank take an hour. God I’m on this bus.’ And it just makes you realize how sad it is. You know, it’s hard to get around. It’s so hard. Like… ito pa. C: Exactly, yeah. On Bumble, when you tell them, the first thing that I ask guys: “Where are you from?” First question. Anything beyond Pasig I: Well, no, it did change. It made me feel more, a bit more free, River, God. but not fully. Not yet there. You know, [not] the same freedom na when you’re in Singapore, and they say, ‘Oh, meet me here.’ C: It’s not gonna work! All I have to do is Google the… which train station I have to go to. So convenient. And you know, those are the things na you I: Eliminated! don’t really… that first world country people don’t appreciate. C: It’s not gonna work! - 3 - ‘Okay, now I’m an office worker.’ Are there things that you I: It’s not gonna work. You do not know me, you do not love relate to the activity of commuting? me that much. I: Ah, yeah. Waiting. Waiting in the P2P line. Especially when C: Oh, my gosh, that’s so funny. ‘Cause I read an article about it’s after five o’clock. Haba ng pila. Have you tried? traffic in Manila and how it actually— C: Well, not lining up. ‘Cause the last few times when I tried I: It will affect your dating life. the P2P, parang laging off-peak. So it wasn’t necessarily a problem. C: That’s funny. I: For your study, you go to Makati, you line up at six o’clock. I: Kaya a guy who lives in QC and is willing to go to Alabang for you? C: Okay.

C: True Love. I: Yeah. People, I notice people download their Netflix shows na and they just watch it in line. So sad! That’s so sad. Try mo. I: Love. It’s true love. Just for your study. Sa BGC para intense yung pila. Six o’clock.

C: Ay, I can’t say that. I don’t know, because my boyfriend was C: Okay. No worries. from Pasig, and well, it ended up not being true love. I: Makakanood ka rin ng Channel 2. I: I’m sure it was true love! C: Have you ever made friends in the line? Just out of curiosity. C: Well, at some point. I: No. I: Yeah. C: No one talks to each other? C: Yeah, at some point. I’ll give him that. Sige nga. Fine. How would you describe yourself as a commuter? Do you even think I: They’re all on their phones. There are times when I feel like you should call yourself as a commuter? I’m chatty, but there are times when I’m like, don’t bother me. I’m talking to my friend on the phone. I: No, I don’t think so. I really don’t deserve that term. C: Yun nga eh, ‘cause that was like the thing. At first I thought, C: Why? Explain. maybe I can make friends and be that weird person in line who’s just so chatty and be like, “Hi, how are you?” Ganyan. Do I: I don’t like taking the jeep. you have any words that you relate to the word ‘commute’ or to the ‘commuter’? C: Okay. How would you define a commuter, especially in the context of Manila? I: Tagal. Matagal.

I: Okay, someone who’s like—who knows how to get around… C: Matagal. oh yeah, QC, I’m gonna take the jeep, blah blah blah, and someone who’s cool with it. I: I need to pee. Layo pa. Traffic sa Zapote.

C: Okay. C: This is kind of theoretical, but when you think of the word ‘rhythm’, what do you think of? I: I’m not cool with it. I’ll take a Grab. I’ll take a Grab somewhere. I’m gonna take a P2P to Makati then I’m gonna I: Music. take a Grab. That’s what I’m gonna do. C: Okay, that’s fine. That’s fine. No, yeah. But when you’re C: So you wouldn’t describe yourself as a commuter. thinking of yourself as someone who’s mobile, what do you think of when you think of the word ‘rhythm’? I: I wouldn’t. I don’t think I deserve the term. Not in Manila anyway. I: Like if I’m ano… I guess when I’m in sync with the other people moving around with me. C: Okay. Allow me to call you a commuter. C: Ah okay. That’s actually a nice way to put it. I: Sige. For your study thing. C: Yeah. When are you a commuter, and when are you not a I: Ah, thank you. commuter? C: No, really! I think I overthink it now because I see it from an I: What does that mean? academic standpoint. But that’s actually very eye-opening. Okay. So, I was thinking, the next time that you go on one of C: Are there things that you relate to being a commuter, and your P2P trips, or P2P commutes, do you think it’s okay for me then when those things stop, let’s say within a day, you say, to tag along?

- 4 - I: Yeah, of course. I’m gonna go tomorrow. Going home from Makati. Probably at six.

C: Ah sige. Interesting. Sige, I’ll text you. Sige, sige.

I: Magkukwentuhan lang tayo. ‘Cause we’re gonna wait so long!

C: Okay lang yun. You don’t even have to talk to me!

I: Okay lang, ano ka ba.

C: O sige. If not tomorrow, are you commuting next week, or this week pa rin?

I: Baka Wednesday. Pero BGC naman.

C: Ah, sige, sige. I’ll text you. But I’m open to tomorrow. Sige, sige.

I: Tomorrow, Makati. Wednesday, BGC.

C: Okay, sige, sige. And then in the event that say for instance I ask you the next time you ride a P2P, with or without me, do you think you can like, maybe, take some photos or a video, or a sound recording, any form of media that stands out for you? And you can just let me know why did it stand out for you? Why did you take notice of it? Like, just be more aware, I guess.

I: Without looking like a creeper.

C: You can look like a creeper, you can not look like a creeper. That’s fine. If you just want to. No pressure. I’m kind of collecting all these visual media and see if they—if it can contribute to my study. Do you have anything else to say?

I: CR lang ako. I’ll just use the bathroom first.

C: So just before I end this interview, do you have anything else you wanna comment on?

I: I really hope we have a train system in the Philippines. In the future. The P2P is great and all, but a train would be faster.

C: True. That’s true. I hope so too.

I: In Japan, when I was there, you know how far Yokohama is from Tokyo? We stayed in Yokohama, but we’d go to Tokyo everyday.

C: Wow, how long did that take?

I: Thirty minutes. Thirty to forty minutes on the train. But you know how much the distance was? Like [from] here to QC.

C: Yeah.

I: Sad. Sad.

C: Well, you never know. Maybe in fifty years.

I: Matanda na ako.

C: Matanda na tayo.

- 5 - 8 JAN 2020 Transcribed Interview with Bianca Francisco B: This was around 2017, October. Venue: Starbucks, Alabang Town Center 15:00 C: Ah, okay.

B: Yeah. So, and then I found out my—I asked my classmate C: Okay, so, hold on— about it and she said, “Hey, your Tita Apple’s also—took it one time.” So I was like, “Oh, my God. Okay. If our aunt has B: Hi, I’m Bianca. Bianca Pelaez Francisco. I’m twenty-four. done it, then I can do it. If my friend has done it, then I can do it.” Anyway, and then, my dad accompanied me on my first C: Great! P2P, we went there for my first day of work [on] my internship in Crate & Barrel. And when we sat there right away my dad B: Yeah. I didn’t let you guess— saw one of her friends—one of his friends, sorry, one of his friends, and I was like, “Okay, this is great. Like one of our titas C: Wow, I didn’t even have to ask that. Those were my first is here.” And then it was mostly people in suits and were like, two questions. you know, business casual. So I was so comfortable, and I was like, “Oh, my God!” I felt more grown up. I was only, I think, B: Yeah, I’m twenty-four. twenty-two, twenty-three. So, I got excited and then after that I realized I can actually do it on my own. C: Okay, so for the purpose of this recording, can you tell me what you do again? C: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

B: Oh, okay. So currently, I—my full-time job is events. We do B: It was—I think my first time going home—taking it, going basically events for launches for companies. We decorate them to Makati was fine but going home I had to take it late at night, and then we do also their, like PR side. So… uh, we do the—I so that one was kind of stressing me out, ‘cause like, I didn’t mainly focus on event styling, focusing on how the event will realize the lines were super long. So it was like, that was when be, how it looks, the experience for the customers or for the like, it was a peak hour. So I realized—I started strategizing guests at least. And then the PR side, it’s when we contact like, “Okay. Then I’ll just stay a little longer in Makati. And influencers, media people, TV, radio, all that stuff. Yeah. And then like, leave at like, eight or something.” Other than that it then I do construction in—it started off in Poblacion, and now was like, overall it was a great experience. It’s the only it’s like spread out, so P2P is very handy. commuting I would want to maintain. Like I’m okay with. I don’t know if I can do the rest. It’s comfy. It’s fast, they’re C: Okay. Where are you from? super like, on point with their schedule. Yeah. Friendly people.

B: Alabang, Muntinlupa City. Born and raised. C: Okay. Do you have any particular anecdotes or particular, I don’t know, memories from that time when you took the jeep, C: Where do you live currently? for example—

B: Alabang. Tierra Nueva. B: Oh, yeah. We took the jeep in Alabang. That was my second time. My first time was in BGC. And I was like, holding C: Okay. You don’t have to say that, but thank you! So now on to my friends. And then my ex was there also, so I was just I’m gonna ask questions about your commuting history. So like, holding on and then they were like, “Bianca, you can let could you tell me about yourself as a commuter? go of us.” And the second time was more comfortable, [I] wasn’t holding on to anyone but my sister—she took a video of B: Oh, okay. Actually, P2P I think is the only public – no, it’s me and it was the worst because I don’t know why, I think that not my first one. My first one was a jeep – was when there was construction here on the main road of Zapote Road. It was horrible because it was hitting my eyes, G: One time only. the dust, and I was like, “I don’t like this place, I don’t like this—doing this.” And we were only going to like, S&R, I B: No, no, no. Twice. I rode with my sister; it was horrible. think. It was super near! It was super near [and] I hated it. And then one with my ex, and it—that was better. It was in BGC. Technically, I didn’t want to do any type of public C: Mostly because of the dust, the pollution— commuting, and then my—I got uhm, I got an internship in Crate & Barrel, which is SM Makati. So my dad said, “Hey, I B: Yeah, I felt like I got ready for nothing. can’t keep dropping you there back and forth.” Because first of all, waste of gas, toll is really expensive—two-hundred- C: Right, right. something pesos—and then, uh, we all use the same car in the family. So he taught me the P2P and I was like, “Oh, my God. G: Yeah, and she was fully dressed. Is this crazy?! I—I can’t take a bus—a bus?! I never rode a bus yet! This is crazy!” And then he told me, “No, it’s a different C: Okay. So now, how do you get to work and school—or kind of bus, a premium P2P bus.” I’m like, “Oh, okay.” I found work or school, or whatever— out my friend takes it pala, so I asked her. She was like, “It’s not bad at all.” And she’s so maarte. B: Oh, okay. Well, for work it’s really Grab and P2P. Yeah, definitely P2P ‘cause like, uhm, except for the one in Molito, I C: Wait lang. When was this? Like around what year? just grab or [use] my car. Anything past Alabang,

- 1 - automatically it’s P2P already and Grab. So, it’s uhm—I’m C: Wala lang? highly dependent on P2P. B: My friend said there’s none—it’s really just to load— C: Okay, alright. And how often do you take it? G: No, no, you can use it in other places— B: Uhm, I know I computed this one time. Wait. Yeah, I had to. I got reimbursed by the company. Yeah. ‘Cause [in] events, B: Yeah, you can use it in any other transportation, like for we—they reimburse; everyone gets reimbursed, even my bosses taxi[s], so MRT and all that stuff, but it didn’t seem like, get reimbursed. Uhm, I… at one point, I think one—I think necessary for me—like, I don’t think I need it. one day, when it’s a full events day, I decide to go back home just to like, change clothes, I took it four to five times. C: Oh, okay, because you’d only really use it for the P2P.

C: What—a week? B: Yeah, and I need the receipts.

B: No, like one day. That was like one day. ‘Cause I would go C: Yeah, okay. Uhm, so which route do you take? evening, go home at like six, come back and then—well, that’s four. That’s four. Only five if I decide to go out like again at B: Mostly Makati. The what’s it called—the Skyway. night. So four for one day, during an event day. Or—that’s only if I decide to go home. If I don’t, in a week, probably I C: The Greenbelt— take P2P going back and forth, right, so uhm, one, two… maybe six? B: Yeah, anything—any meetings near BGC, I just take the BGC one. C: Six times in a day? C: Yeah. Okay. So I think I’m gonna repeat myself here— B: Yeah. Seven if it’s like I’m gonna go out, that’s why. Then I—I can just Grab going home. But like six back and forth. So B: Yeah, okay. going, back, going there, going here, yeah… so six. C: —because you were telling me about this already, but I’ll C: So six times going there… ask it anyway. Do you remember the first few times you took it? And what memories stand out? What did you feel? Did you B: Yeah. So that’s like three times a week. have a hard time getting used to certain things like paying or finding a seat or— C: Ah, okay. So three times a week doing that. Well, so that’s pretty often—frequent. B: Yeah. Oh, my God. Like, oh, my God, my first month of P2P, I felt, like, invincible. But also like, “Oh, my God. I have B: Often, yeah. At one point it was like four, ‘cause it was with to like, rely on this!”, especially when I was tired. I was like, I Crate & Barrel as well, so. was always dressed up in Crate & Barrel, so even though I didn’t need to be, I don’t know why… it was stupid. But like, C: Okay, okay. And then you have the Beep Card and sometimes I would go out, that’s why. And then there were everything… times I didn’t go out so I had to walk back to the P2P from SM Makati all the way to Greenbelt. So my feet would hurt, but B: No, actually. I thought about it. I’ve been looking at the then at least like… my most memorable, I think… huh. Beep Card. And like I just don’t want it still. When… hmm. The most—the thing I can think about right now is when my friend Pipo and I watched a movie. And then C: Why not? it was like, right, movies are like late, like twelve, so we tried catching the one I guess right at the—it ends at nine thirty. B: ‘Cause like, sometimes I change my mind. I don’t know; it And then for some reason we miscalculated it; it didn’t end [at] just seems easier if I see my cash. nine thirty. It ended [at] nine forty. So we ran, and then we started noticing, “Oh, damn, it’s gonna be ten!” and the last C: Ah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay, alright. bus is ten… So we started running. And then, yeah, we made it. They waited for us. ‘Cause we had to go to the restroom pa. B: And like, I don’t think you get a receipt. So we were really running. Like… and then we were exiting the mall. And we realized that exit was closed, so we had to C: Yeah, they don’t give you a receipt, unless you load it, I look for a different exit in Greenbelt. Yeah, they waited. They think. were so nice.

B: Yeah, I think—and I need the receipt. C: Oh, that’s so nice! Yeah, and what about the space in the bus? Was there anything that you liked about it? Or noticed, C: Ah, okay that makes sense. Okay, okay, that makes sense. like—

B: Yeah. B: Oh, yeah. I love the space. Even the foldable chairs in the middle. C: Are there any advantages to the Beep card? C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. B: No.

- 2 - B: ‘Cause I know not everyone likes that, but I like the—I like B: Greenbelt 1, right, so there’s a Mercury, then the Yellow fact that they ask people, “Are you okay with sitting in the Cab—that’s pretty far already. The furthest one is December, center?” this last December. It was past Yellow Cab going to the sidewalk— C: Ah, okay. C: To the Starbucks already? Like— B: Or sometimes they say it’s “one more” but like, uhm, it’s not a real seat. That one’s fine. B: Like, it’s well, it’s not there. But it’s going there. That sidewalk, yeah… And that’s when like, two buses came, and C: Yeah. like it was just so fast—it wasn’t every thirty minutes anymore. They tried filling up all those buses and then it became every B: Like I’m… I’m still willing to do that. thirty minutes again. So they were prepared for rush hour.

C: Okay, alright. Uhm, can you compare it to your experience C: Okay. So this is different from my earlier question, when I now? Like uhm— was asking you about your commuting history. But why do you take the P2P now? B: From the first time— B: It’s just more convenient. Like, I think everyone says that. C: Comparing it from the first few times that you took it and now, did you notice anything different? Or I dunno— C: Yeah. And it’s mostly for work as well.

B: Uhm, way more people use it now. A lot. And then I think B: Yeah, plus you avoid the two-hundred something per toll. they… December, ‘cause it’s Christmas time, everyone’s taking You’re only paying eighty pesos—oh, sorry, sorry, not it—I think they’re more prepared now. anymore. A hundred pesos. Sorry. Just kidding. A hundred pesos. C: Prepared in what way? C: Alright. B: In terms of like, uh… December is when everyone takes it, so one bus is not enough. So one time I was already outside the B: I do want the option of paying [via] card. mall, like almost like at the side… the sidewalk? And the line is in the mall, like outside the waiting area. So in Makati, at the C: Ah, okay. Alright. sidewalk, I texted my dad, saying, “Oh, no. I don’t think I’ll be able make it. I think I’ll be taking like the ten o’clock bus B: Yeah, ‘cause I didn’t have cash one time. I would want—I already.” And it’s like only eight. So, and then, after that I wanted to pay card. realized they took—they brought two more buses so I was able to take the next… second or third bus. So they were super C: They only accept via cash, right? prepared with the “okay, it’s holidays, everyone’s taking it.” Yeah, they’re more efficient now. I mean they already were, B: Yeah. Cash or Beep. And like I can’t get a Beep if I have to but now it’s like, they know how to plan the seasons. pay it in cash anyways, so…

C: How was it like waiting in line? ‘Cause I was interviewing C: Yeah, that’s true. That’s true. [Ina]—another person—the other day, and one of the things she pointed out was the waiting time and the long lines in B: So I think card option should be something. I mean like, I Greenbelt. And rush hour. know it’s gonna be a rare thing, but at least it’s there.

B: Yeah, I try avoiding that. I just drink. C: Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uhm, how do you think your day to day life has changed? G: I would always hit the rush hour. B: It makes me go out more. And like, yeah—no, not only B: Yeah, so when I would hit the rush hour, the first time, I going out like, like, you know, like drinking and having fun, but was—I didn’t—I thought the line was super long already. But like, it makes me want to go to work. ‘Cause at least—before, only one time [I] experienced a super long line when I first ‘cause like, when before even Crate & Barrel started, my started taking it. And that’s when I realized, “Okay, I can thought—when I got the internship, I had to talk to my dad never take, like the six thirty onwards.” So I—When it’s seven about it, saying like, “Wait. How am I gonna be able to do thirty, pwede pa. But five thirty, at six to six thirty to seven, I’m this? Maybe I shouldn’t accept it.” But now any, like, projects gonna avoid. When it’s seven, that’s when I can start walking. offered to me in Makati, like or BGC, I automatically say yes Sometimes—I admitted, I can admit, I’ve been drunk on the already if I know I can do it. There was one time a company bus so many times. I would bring small whiskeys—I don’t care, wanted to hire me but [in] Pasig for some interior design this is [an] interview. I will bring whiskeys with me and then I’d thingy and I—it was so hard to communicate with me, with realize like, “Damn, this—” Yeah, but other than that, I would, my—with them—‘cause we were… like the manager was at least I don’t have to wait so long. I already know, I drank trying to even help me how do I commute there. Or drive already, I ate dinner, I can go home… yeah. there. ‘Cause even she was saying, “Better—bring a car.” But the thing is if you bring a car, there’s no parking. So either C: Okay, so. Wait lang—how does it feel like—wait lang, where way, it’s still better to commute. So she—we were trying to does the line, where does the line extend? Di ba sa Greenbelt— figure out like there’s no P2P going to Pasig, so now, anything

- 3 - Makati / BGC, automatically yes. I feel like there’s more… for people with less bags. So I can sit beside them. Or my like, opportunities for me now ‘cause of the P2P. friends. Especially with my friends, I’m so gulo. Like from a distance, sometimes people will film me and be like, “Bianca, I C: Okay, okay. Nice. Okay. What are some things you notice saw you!” So I think that’s a good also conversation starter, on your commute on the P2P? And why do you notice them? like: “You take P2P? I take P2P! We should take P2P together!” So it became a thing, like we’ll time it. B: Oh, okay. C: Yeah, yeah. Oh, that’s nice. Do you talk to other people on C: Like anything that happens inside the bus, to you or to the bus? someone else… or in relation to, I don’t know, where you’re sitting or whatever. B: I did [to] one guy, ‘cause he was cute. And then—for a while, for a while, ‘cause my friend was across and he started B: Negative or positive, right? videoing me saying, “Bianca! Oh, my God, you’re here!” So I, I was like, “Hi, is it okay if my friend videos me dancing? I C: Negative or positive, yeah. know you’re right beside me.” And he was like, “Yeah, sure.” And I started goofing off, and he started laughing, and I’m like, B: Mmmm. “Cool.” I think he’s taken; he didn’t talk to me. S’okay, I’m taken now, whatever. C: Like, okay, for example— C: Is this all on social media? All these things that you do on B: It depends kasi. Like the BGC, the Manila one and the the bus? Makati are all different. B: Yeah, yeah. I don’t care. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. C: Would it be okay if, later on, I ask you for it? B: I hate the Manila one. B: If I can find it, yeah. I’ll send it. C: Ah, yeah, okay. Why? C: Alright, I would like to see that. B: Because uhm, I got left three times because the driver apparently changed his mind. ‘Cause I asked the… the mall’s B: No, there’s one, it was like the… I think with people, when uhm… the mall’s… what’s it called? Security guard who I we rushed, the one when we were rushing for the bus, the last know always talks to the driver. Every time I would line up in bus after the movie. Yeah, I think Pipo and I were still like in the morning or afternoon, they’re still talking, so they’re close. the—we just watched Lion King so we were still excited about But the evening one, when I would see my ex, who was in it, we were still talking about it. So we were just goofing off in Med, so Manila, right? Uhm, it was the Manila Robinson the bus. And he would film me dancing. one— C: Ah, that’s fun. C: Yeah. B: Yeah. I was so annoying people. B: Uhm, when it was evening, I would ask the guard, “Where’s the P2P bus?” and then he would say like, “Ah, he decided to C: What did other people think about it? leave early.” And that’s the last bus na lang, even if it was eight o’clock. B: Oh, it was okay, ‘cause it was like less people in the back.

C: Oh, my goodness. C: Ah, okay. That’s good.

B: And it was only six. So like…That one I feel like it’s a B: Yeah, and everyone was on their earphones, so we were like, different company, so I understand. So they have their own… as long as we’re not super loud, it’s fine. that’s like, their own operations issue. But for like the Makati and BGC… well, I don’t know why BGC has a different bus. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. It’s like a regular bus—it’s still clean, it’s super cold, compared to the Makati one, but like, I like the Makati one more ‘cause B: I don’t like it when people talk on the phone on the bus. like, there’s… [there’s an option] if you’re injured, they have a That was… that’s the most annoying one. rail… yeah, that ramp thingy. It’s just—and people who bring like their maletas, at least they can bring it in with you. ‘Cause G: [I get annoyed when people] eat in the bus. like, when I would bring mine, I wouldn’t put mine under the bus. I want to bring it with me. B: I’m okay with eating, if it doesn’t smell.

C: Aha. Okay, alright. Do you notice anything about how you C: Are you allowed to eat ba? behave inside the bus, compared to like, when you’re not on it…? Do you suddenly change your body language? Or do you, B: I don’t think so. I would. I would before—if I’m super early, I don’t know— I would. If no one’s beside me, it’s super empty, I would just rush it. B: Oh, yeah. I adjust. Like if someone has big bags like me. If I have an overnight bag, then obviously I adjust and I try looking C: Ah, okay. - 4 - C: So you feel like you know Manila better—at least parts of it? B: ‘Cause I’m really hungry. B: Yeah. Definitely now, ‘cause of P2P. I just study it. G: You eat fast anyway. I mean, look at that. C: Okay. Alright. How would you describe yourself as a B: I don’t chew. I’m Bianca Francisco, I don’t chew. commuter now?

C: How has taking the P2P changed the ways in which you B: Ooh, so prepared. I bring everything with me. know Manila? Like for instance, do you know Manila better, do you see new faces of Manila? C: Like what?

B: Oh, yeah… definitely. I do now. Because I could—I pass it B: Actually, no, I rarely bring everything with me, but now almost every day. And then I know the streets now of Makati, with P2P, I get myself extra prepared—two extra headphones. somewhat—like in some way, I kind of know it already. ‘Cause right when you were like on the bus, you have to make Especially if I have a project nearby, for example in Poblacion, sure—you wanna—it’s so boring if you have no music or I always Google Map everything in Greenbelt now. Wherever anything to do. So— the P2P stop is, I see like, “Okay, how do I get there from P2P?” Yeah, that’s kind of like, how I do everything. Even if it’s C: Oh, you don’t watch the TV? like Pasay or like, even Manila, if I had a meeting in Manila, I would base it in the P2P drop-off. So I got familiar. B: On the BGC one, I do, ‘cause I can actually hear it. The Makati one I can’t really hear it from any seat, so… yeah, I C: So do you just walk there— would [have] two extra headphones, always Wet Ones, just in case something spilled, and perfume just because some people B: Or Grab. Or, yeah. smell.

C: You never take the jeep inside Makati? C: Ah, okay—

B: No, I don’t know how. There’s a jeep in Makati? Oh, my B: No, no. Okay, BGC one, it’s a lot of the working-out people God. What jeep? I don’t see any jeep there! Like a, like an e- I see, ‘cause my friends work out there. So I have to deal with jeep? that.

G: No, no, just like a regular jeep. Like the one you rode. G: So it’s your friends’ fault.

B: There’s a jeep in Makati? B: Yeah, it’s my friends and their gym. Yeah… they gym there, that’s why. G: I would always ride that. C: Okay. So what do you do—what else do you do while C: Like not inside—not on all the streets. Not on all the streets, you’re commuting? You’re sitting on the bus, what do you do? di ba? B: I just work. I work remotely, so… I work. Or I watch B: Maybe—maybe the streets I don’t see. Netflix. Yeah. Sometimes, oh, my God—one time, I was watching Aladdin, re-watching on my laptop and I was in the G: In the main streets—you should see it. center—

B: Legazpi, like that? C: Oh, laptop?

C: Yeah, di ba? B: Yeah. I was in the—what’s it called? The foldable one?

G: Amorsolo, Legazpi, the main streets have jeeps. C: Yeah.

B: Oooh, interesting. B: Yeah, I have to bring my laptop. It’s work. So I was on the foldable one, center, and I brought out my whiskey and I C: Okay, alright. started drinking it and watching Aladdin. And it was like two old men started leaning over, watching it with me, and I was like, B: No, I don’t know how to do that. I think I’d rather take just sitting there, “[Incoherent sound], Mmmmokay.” Angkas than that. G: You know you’re not allowed to drink there, right? G: No, you’re stupid. B: I didn’t know that. B: No, I don’t like it. I just don’t like [it]. C: Well— G: You don’t like the smoke, you don’t like the—Angkas is the same thing. B: It’s a—it’s a—it’s a quick shot, Gianna. It’s not a bottle—it’s just mini shots. B: No, I have a helmet. I’d rather take that. C: You’re not allowed to drink or eat? Technically? Technically. - 5 -

B: But there’s a mini shot, okay? C: Ah, okay—

G: No, but—but—but then, there are like, people there G: She dances everywhere. riding— B: Maybe. And then one time, I ripped my pants. But that B: And my friend was laughing, ‘cause she was across—right, wasn’t with P2P; that was Grab na. there’s one, there’s a seat that faces everything? C: Ah, okay. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah— G: Stop na. Stop—stop. B: So the one that faces the driver, and the one facing everyone—and she was laughing her head off ‘cause she was B: I know—sponsor me. like, “Are you drinking?” “Yeah, I am!” C: Okay, uhm, does it ever feel tight in the bus? I just wonder. C: Oh, my God. B: Oh, yeah. I feel like I’m the one who’s making it feel tighter. G: There’s a sign. Look at the sign— C: Why, because you’re moving around? B: Okay, I’m sorry. Uh, P2P, I won’t do it again. I’m sorry. B: ‘Cause I’ll bring a—I bring my laptop, and then I have like, C: I’m not gonna report it— for example, one bag. And then if you sit down, you have—you can only put your bag in front of you and then laptop. Right? B: Maybe once, maybe once—‘cause I’ve ridden it so drunk. So you can’t stop me! C: Yeah.

C: Oh, my God. Okay, so you would describe yourself as a G: You placed it on me when I rode with you. prepared commuter. B: Ah okay, sorry. B: Oh, yeah. I have shades even. Like. G: So I don’t like riding with her. C: Shades? B: Yeah, but like, as much as possible, I’ll try putting my bag B: ‘Cause like, sometimes, if I’m super out late, like at events, on the floor, or just really on top of me. ‘Cause it’s like, you and I have to come home, I hate looking like a mess, so I put can’t—if you’re in the side, window seat, you can’t really put shades on. Extra clothes, extra underwear. your hands anywhere.

G: Okay. C: Yeah, yeah, that’s true.

C: Okay, okay. B: Yeah, so I try being [at] the aisle area.

B: Yeah, it’s so a necessity. It’s [such a] necessity pala—I didn’t C: Ah, okay. So, wait—I forgot to ask this. What’s the earliest know that. My friend told me. time that you took the P2P or you take the P2P?

G: You don’t have to say it! B: Uh, I try catching the five thirty one, I think. I think it’s five thirty but I always miss it, like it’s already full. Apparently a lot B: No! It’s real; you guys should all use disposable. It’s so of people take it. Uh, so I took the six to Manila. So empty. handy-dandy. Haha.

C: Okay. Riding the bus— C: Ah, okay, okay. And in Makati?

B: I’ll say why. I’ll tell you why. No, later. Okay, fine. I don’t B: Makati’s around the same time, yeah. And then the six one care. One time, I ripped my thong. So, I was—I was—I was— coming back home. Yeah. ‘Cause it’s still fine. I was—I was in my leggings with no underwear. So you have to pack an extra underwear, guys. C: Oh, okay. Does riding the bus mark any rhythm for you? Like for instance, “Oh, by riding this bus, this means I’m on C: Well, it makes sense. It makes sense! I would do the same my way to work na.” Or— thing. B: Yeah, it does. G: You should wear underwear— C: “It’s officially the start of my day.” B: No, again, it ripped, okay! I didn’t know—I don’t—I don’t know how this happened but it ripped and I don’t know. I B: Yeah, it does. It—when I’m there like, for a meeting, then think I was so aggressive; I just like— I’ll just blast music, and then sometimes I’m in the middle, I’m like so pumped up, everyone’s so dead. You can like, feel the G: ‘Cause you dance a lot— vibe. Some people are still dead, some people are still hyped. - 6 - Yeah, but like when I see people who are in suits, it gets me now, but the minute you step off, you put on a different more prepared ‘cause like, you’re surrounded by work—like persona, na parang— working people, right? So, it gets me prepared like, “Okay, I got it.” I feel safe. It’s like a breather, ‘cause I chase after the B: No. I think Makati/BGC, I’m the same all the way. It’s P2P bus, to make sure that I don’t miss it, so the moment I sit when I take the Manila bus, that’s when I feel like a different down I’m like, “Okay. Okay, I’m on my way to work now.” person. I have to act a different way. It’s very quiet; I feel like I have to watch my bag more unless I see a bunch of college C: So I gather that you almost always rush for the bus. Like students—the ones who take the Taft one, Taft Road. Then I you run for it— feel like I can do my own thing. But when it’s like very little people, and it’s like older crowd, they don’t—they don’t look B: Yeah. Because uhm, even though I leave early, it’s…it’s like they’re working, they look like they’re going home, or I always full at the time I go there. I know that a lot of people don’t know—uhm, that’s when I… I’m more quiet, my bag is take the eleven, or like ten, so I don’t want—if it’s full, it’s more like, right beside me and stuff like that. gonna leave me already, so might as well just keep rushing for it. C: Yeah. Uhm, are there things, or are there rhythms that you relate to commuting? Like I don’t know, waiting, for instance, C: Okay, so I’m gonna ask you to describe this word. What is or paying? Standing? rhythm? What do you think—let me just rephrase that—can you define rhythm for me when thinking of yourself as B: Oh—paying, yeah. I feel like it’s just staying there. Like someone who’s able to move? everyone like, when you’re like—I notice when you like, you pass… right, there’s like, Zagu, and then there’s gonna be, later B: Right away, I automatically think dance. on, there’s gonna be in the… Makati one, the Adobo… thing— C: Oh, that’s fine. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Adobo Connection. B: Ah, no, we can do that work-wise. Work-wise I guess it’s like a pattern. But like a rhythm is… and dance. The movements B: Yeah, Connection. The moment you pass there, everyone and flow, but there’s like a… how do I say this? It—it—I keep takes their wallet out, so that’s the moment I—everyone like, ending with pattern. It’s like a pattern. grabs their wallet at the same time, so I’m like waiting ‘til I pass it then I grab mine. I guess—I guess that’s one. C: Yeah, okay. That’s fine, because the other day I interviewed someone and the first thing she thought was music. And then C: Okay. So my next question is, ‘cause I’m trying to she elaborated later on—it’s being in sync with other people. consolidate a set of media. Visual media—photos, videos or even sound recordings. So if I ask you, maybe the next time B: Yeah. you ride the P2P, Makati or BGC or whatever, preferably Makati— C: So, yeah. You can define it however you want. B: I have a video. I think I have it in my laptop. It was an B: And I think you move differently, when you know your evening one. Looks super nice. rhythm, when you know your flow and your pattern. C: Do you mind sending it to me? C: Yeah, yeah, yeah— B: I’ll check if I have it saved. B: And like sort of the energy around you. C: Okay, okay. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah—so, okay. What word do you relate to the word “commute” or to “the commuter”? You have any words, B: Yeah, it’s just by hand. ‘Cause everyone was just so quiet. I keywords that you can relate to— ? was like, “Oh, my God.” My first time really like—

B: I only think about P2P. That’s the only thing I think of— C: And then you had to take a photo of it. yeah, yeah, wait. Commute… yeah. First thing that enters my head is P2P. B: I took a video of it. It was weird—I loved it.

C: But why? C: Okay, alright, so yeah. If you could send me that, if you don’t mind, or you could do it on your next ride. B: Work, I guess. So commute, “work”, I guess. Yeah. B: Okay. Alright. I was just there yesterday. I should have done C: So commuting means going to work. that. Yeah, oh well.

B: Work. C: Well, I’m still here naman the next few weeks—months— weeks. So you could do it no matter how many times you want. C: Alright. And when are you a commuter, and when are you not a commuter? Like does that—does that question make B: Now I have an excuse! Just kidding. sense? Like in a day—in a space of a day, are you kind of self- aware that right now, I’m sitting on this bus, I’m commuting C: And then you could just tell me why did you take it, why did you choose to take it. - 7 -

B: Okay, I’ll put notes on it. G: Yeah. For the regular bus, since—it stinks. It really stinks.

C: Okay. No pressure, though, you can give me one, two, a lot B: Yeah, and there are so many stops. I like the fact that [on if you want. And if I have any further questions, do you mind if P2P] there’s only one stop or like Manila, there’s multiple, but I follow up and we meet up again— in the same area.

B: Yeah, sure. Sure. C: Yeah, yeah.

C: And also, ah, this one I’ll have to check my schedule, but G: Yeah. Because [on] the regular bus, people can stand beside then—the next time you go on one of your commutes, coming you and then you have to uhm, watch for your stuff every back to Alabang or going to Makati, do you mind if I join you, single time. just tag along—? B: Yeah. B: Yeah, okay. Yeah, sure. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

G: And before that, I only took P2P because I got held up Part II, post-official interview with more participation from Gianna, already in the jeep—twice already so, you know, I’m kind of Bianca’s sister used to it.

B: …like is that really, like public transport? And ‘cause I was B: She fought for her bag. taking a car at that time pa. G: Yeah, I fought for my bag. G: That’s the reason why I decided I could live at home already. ‘Cause, like, I could go out further— B: Oh, my God. I have kwento after. Wait.

B: Yeah! Oh, I should have said that— G: So, I literally fought—I was on the jeep and the guy was trying—I don’t know what time—they were trying to grab my C: You used to live in Pasay— stuff. The thing is—

G: I used to live in Pasay. C: What time was that?

C: For work ba? Or for school? G: Evening.

G: I was still in school and events, then I lived there. And then C: Late evening or what? since there’s P2P—ah okay, I can come from the house already, [costs] less money (eighty pesos only)— G: Yeah, late evening.

B: Yeah. B: Zapote Road, right?

G: Mainly eighty pesos, not like yours was. I wasn’t cheating. G: Yeah.

B: I think, I think also, P2P made me realize I could actually be C: Oh, my goodness. on my own, ‘cause like, for example, I checked into a hotel, ‘cause there’s an event, and I’ll tell my parents I don’t want to G: Late evening. It’s like—I’m just on my—I’m just starting. come home ‘cause it’s super late. So I’ll just check in there, and And then they were grabbing [onto] my stuff. And then I got then I realized I could actually live—I could visit my parents my bag, and I was like, “No!” That—that’s—I—I think I paid here in Alabang or Gianna—sorry—and then I could still, like, for that bag. It’s [not] like a cheap bag, it’s like seven thousand, go back after. I don’t care—I just wanted my bag. And then I had my other stuff in there. And then my phone dropped out—well, at least I G: ‘Cause—‘cause for me the first time, I would always take hit the person. the regular bus which is like, you can get tetanus and then those stuff from the—the regular bus. Yeah— B: So he got the phone but he—

B: I took that once. It was horrible. Oh, my God. I felt so G: Yeah, yeah. uncomfortable! B: I was able to track it. G: No, but I was taking that the entire time before P2P. Like, I took the jeep—it used to cost twenty-seven pesos going all the G: Yeah. We—she— way to Makati, now it probably costs more—uhm, and then the pollution, when I get there, my white shirt isn’t as white B: Remotely uh, deactivated the phone. So you can’t even use anymore, I have rust stains on my polo. it.

B: The aircon is amazing. P2P’s always so cold. G: Yeah, you can’t reset it, you can’t—but I always carried a small knife with me previously, that’s why I was like, so - 8 - matapang. So I brought out my small knife and I tried to, like— C: Ah, but still! Cool. like to fight with someone— B: Yeah, so my boyfriend was like, shocked. He was like, he B: That’s so cute— ran and was gonna grab him—‘cause he’s a runner, so sprinting for him is fine. So he was gonna grab him and I was G: But that wasn’t the first time. The other time, people tried like, “I have my phone!” And he was like—he stopped—he to grab my phone as well because I always use my phone on was like, “What?” And I’m like, “I have it!” He was like, “Why the commute… ‘cause I’m stupid. do you have your phone?” I’m like, “’Cause I got it!” He was like—and he was like, “I didn’t even realize you punched him!” B: Whatever, that’s not enough of a reasoning. I’m like, “Yeah, it happened so fast. You just have to react.” And ff it’s like your bag, you’ll just have to keep holding onto G: And then now ever since then, I always act like I’m the one it— who’s going to make them hold-up. That’s how I act now so that no one tries [to hold me up]. G: Yeah. So I came from Pasay and in Pasay, there’s always people who try to grab your phone. And I always have to dress B: Except for P2P, you can’t. down, so at least in P2P, I don’t.

G: P2P I don’t, but all other commuting forms I act like I’m C: Ah, you don’t have to dress down necessarily— the holdupper. And— G: If ever I have like a date or an event, I purposely ride P2P. B: I act like a student. ‘Cause I don’t have to worry about the rust stains on my stupid polo— G: Yeah. B: And then there’s also the camera on the P2P. C: Do you bring anything? Like for self-defense or what, payong. G: Yeah. B: I did. But now I realize my bag’s so heavy I could just hit them with it. ‘Cause my mom bought me two like, she bought B: That’s why, for me it’s like—I mean, not every— me a what’s it called? Pepper spray and two alarms. Those suck ‘cause they activate on their own. Like it’s so easy to pull out. C: Ah, I never noticed that. So they’ll activate [in] my bag. I hate it so now I’m like, no, if I’m gonna get holdap, I’m gonna hit them with my bag—it’s B: I mean, some do [have it]. I only notice the ones I’ve already heavy, there’s a lot of heavy metal stuff inside, hello. actually seen.

G: I’m a paranoid commuter unless I’m on the P2P. Then I’m G: There’s a camera. There’s a camera in front, near right not. above the door. Near the driver—it’s like facing the driver’s seat near the door. B: But I have a side note, sorry—so recently, on New Year’s Eve, I was walking back. Uhmmm…This was General Luna B: And also like, I think it’s so open, not dark. Street of Poblacion, and then I was on my phone texting someone ‘Happy New Years’—no, but I’m in Poblacion a lot, C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. so having your phone out in Don Pedro Street is fine, but I real—I forgot that I was in General Luna Street, which is B: That it’s easy to tell if something’s gonna happen. busier… and like, it—it’s not as nice as the other streets like Kalayaan Road. So I was… this guy [on] a motorcycle started G: But at least now—because before, when I first rode it, like slowing down and tried grabbing my hand where my phone when it first started, it left like, parang every hour. Now it’s like was. And like, this guy was stupid—so I dropped my phone so every thirty minutes. So it’s—it’s better. he can’t get it, and then I just punched his arm, and he was just—just— B: But then the Makati—Alabang to Makati…Saturdays [and Sundays], they shortened it, I think, ‘cause not everyone takes G: He wasn’t professional— it.

B: He wasn’t professional. Also he was forgetting [that] I was in G: It used to be—it used to be only until eight pm. UFC, okay? B: No, now it’s still eight. It became nine thirty, and now it’s C: Aha. like back to eight thirty, ‘cause not everyone takes it. I would take it. G: They don’t know you. G: Then I got surprised it’s a hundred na. Before, it used to be B: I know! eighty only.

C: You were in UFC? B: Yeah, I pay a hundred – it sucks.

B: I was a coach there, so I had to learn basic boxing. Basic G: You’re not a student. boxing— B: Sometimes they ask me and I’m like, “Yeah!” - 9 -

G: Student… G: You took a video of that.

B: I don’t say it, but okay! B: Yeah, I took a video of it. And I was telling my dad like, “Oh, my God, this is great!” It was ninety-five pesos, and then C: Do you dress down? Do you notice how you dress when— uhm, we had to go there to ocular visit some shop we were gonna do an event for. And I didn’t realize it was a double one. B: On the Manila one, I dress down. The Makati one, I don’t And I was wondering, “Where’s the entrance?” And he said, care. I’ll just dress the way I wanna dress going to work. “Upstairs, upstairs.” I’m like, oh, okay. And then you can sit in the very front, super tinted, and then you’re just there, sitting. C: Okay, okay. And you feel like you’re on double decker—well, it is a double decker. Yeah. The line there is short [either]. Not everyone B: And BGC as well. takes it. It’s only for the QC people technically. Yeah.

C: Ah, okay, okay, okay. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

B: But I started wearing sneakers more, ‘cause like… it’s uhm, B: I took that beginning of this year, I think? I like it. Two-hour ‘cause in Crate & Barrel, I wear heels a lot. And I started drive, though. realizing it’s not efficient in terms of like—it’s okay at work, it’s okay riding the bus, but me, at the end of the day, SM Makati C: Because of the traffic, maybe? walking to Greenbelt, it was horrible. So I had to pack my own shoes. That’s when I understood it, why people pack their own G: Where, the Trinoma one? shoes. For commute! I didn’t understand that before. So I realized that, okay, I’ll just wear sneakers. Or like, comfy heels. B: Yeah. It’s going to Trinoma e. It’s so far. But not like, going-out heels. C: Yeah. The whole EDSA. G: I used to pack my own shoes also. Like, I had slippers. B: Whole EDSA. But like, it’s faster than taking a regular car. C: Yeah. C: That’s true. G: Slippers. Then sneakers but then— B: Unless your car will give you a short way to somewhere— B: They don’t fit in my bag, okay? Waze. Did you know—I didn’t know—my boyfriend told me, he was saying he uses Waze and Google Maps. And he was G: I don’t anymore, if I take P2P. But if I take a jeep, I have saying Google Maps gives him a shorter route. ‘Cause he slippers, ‘cause I know my feet will get wet— compared it one time. And he told me, “Show me your Waze and I’ll show you my Google Maps.” Everyone’s using Waze. B: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s not gonna show you what Google Maps is taking.

G:—and it’s gonna like, splash, and like, people will enter with G: No, because Waze—the people input also if there’s like a, their wet payongs and those stuff—but P2P, no. I feel like I can parang an accident, or whatever, so people input it— like, dress up, wear nice shoes, and I don’t have to worry— B: No, so that’s handy. But Google Maps, like— B: And sometimes I feel like I don’t even have to hide my laptop. I’ll just put it there, ‘cause like everyone—the one G: Google Maps just shows you like, the average thing— beside me has one also. So… B: Yeah. But it takes us to like the longer— G: It’s nicer. No, the Alabang… the Alabang route, ah, the Alabang-Makati and Alabang-BGC route, they’re nicer G: The side streets— because they don’t stop just anywhere. If you— B: The side streets are faster. Not everyone’s taking it ‘cause B: The Manila one stops three times. they’re not using it, they’re using Waze…

G: Then the one going to Cavite—it’s just like a regular bus. C: Yeah.

C: Ah, really? G: ‘Cause Waze, they have to take only like the main roads only. B: Ah, really? I haven’t tried it. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Makes sense. Okay. Cool. Do you have G: ‘Cause I—I always go there. So I take that route and it’s anything else to say for P2P? always like multiple stops. B: They should put one in Pasay—ah no, Pasig. ‘Cause Pasay B: Oh! I have to mention—one of the great experiences that I you can still take Lawton. The Lawton… the—what’s it called? had, just because of the view, was Makati to Trinoma. My first The Manila one. You can still… time ever. Because it’s a double-deck. So I—my first time riding it, I was like, “Ninety-five pesos?!” G: No, there is technically a P2P from— - 10 - G: So, on the jeep you can’t do that. But on—on the P2P, B: The airport. Yeah, yeah. But I think they should make a we’re like, oh, my God. Okay. Those are not real shoes. Those Pasig one ‘cause people go there. There’s BGC but— are nice shoes. Those are…

G: I like—I like the whole P2P thing because before, I used to B: Sometimes it’s quiet. ride the jeep, I can’t really look around at the new restaurants and those stuff— G: So, you know, you can talk to your seatmate without having to worry about your stuff being stolen. C: Ah, yeah. B: Oh, yeah, yeah. There. That one. B: Yeahhhhh. G: Unless you have like, you’re traveling with your sister G: Whereas if I take the P2P, that’s when I realize, “Oh, okay, who—who makes noise on the bus. But aside from that it’s we can go there next time. Or they’re opening something else. nice. Or that one’s different.” So I’m more, I’m more aware of the surroundings. Yeah. B: Oh, who’s that? You have another sister? I need to meet her. B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice view. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There. G: But it’s—no then usually you’ll know what time you’re G: Even the billboards I’m like, “Oh, my God. They changed gonna arrive. Unlike… the billboards. B: Yeah. That’s the best part. I can tell like, people, “I’ll be B: Yeah, actually! That’s true. there—like yesterday I left for the nine thirty bus, I said okay, I’ll be there at ten. G: Like that billboard with the guy in the underwear that you can see like, everything and then they took it down. Because I C: Yeah. was wondering, what was that whole scandal thing? I never see it. They said it was either in the Skyway or you can see it when B: Like, I went there… I came there ten to [ten]—almost the you ride a bus. E I ride a jeep. Or a car. So I never see it. So same. when I rode the P2P I was like, watching out for the billboard, so I saw it and then they took it down after. C: Yeah, almost the same.

B: Yeah, that’s true. G: Yeah.

G: Yeah, you see the billboards. You see the new buildings. B: You can actually time it. And you say, “Okay, we can go there. Oh. Oh, that’s the condo of this person, or that’s the… so…” C: Yeah, yeah.

B: And you get outfit ideas too—how to commute but still look B: Sometimes I feel like if like there’s super less traffic—the bus nice. And look at other people. driver will still not drive fast. I think he really wants to bring it there at a certain time. C: Oh, really? C: Ah, okay. B: Like, oh, that’s a nice bag! I can keep my laptop there. Yeah. G: Yeah, because you have to be there—and then like I remember when last year I was going to BGC with Rosie— G: And it’s nicer if you’re traveling with someone because you can— B: On a holiday—

B: Talk— G: It was more expensive but at the same time, no one was— we were like, six people only. Then parang, instead of leaving at G: Unlike when you’re on a jeep, you can’t suddenly talk about ten, they left mga ten o’five na just to wait. the other commuters. C: Okay. Wow. C: Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. G: And then—yeah, just five minutes but we still got there like, G: No, we make chismis about the other people—commuters. on time. So it’s like they never leave it a full fifteen minutes We make—we make them lait. later. Unlike, unlike other buses, they’re like, we’ll wait, we’ll wait, we’ll wait or unless it’s puno na— B: Okay, we don’t. My friends and I don’t. We just like, make kwento, like, “Oh, my God. You’re here. Let’s catch up.” B: Yeah. They will actually wait unless they’re full and then they’ll leave already. They’ll just bring the next bus, that’s how G: Oh, no. We make them lait. they’re ready.

B: You’re so mean. G: So it’s just like five minutes maximum, like extension, but other than that, wala. It’s nice. - 11 -

B: Yeah, I like that. That’s good. C: What about when you get on the bus or off the bus, do you remember any particular thing about the whole experience or G: And then I saw a sign that you cannot use—you cannot eat sensation of getting on the bus or getting off it? there. B: Oh. Me, it’s like, uhhh—when it’s on the bus, and then I C: Well, they should have been stricter then. have like a meeting, like I see myself transform in terms of like—no, no, like—when I—the moment I get off the bus, I B: I didn’t know, I didn’t know. No, I shouldn’t. remove my shades, remove my scarf, and then like, I just—and then I put my scarf into a belt, like—work mode is there G: And then they bring the dogs in. So I feel safer because already. I can see everyone just remove their jacket[s], pack there’s this time when— back their umbrellas, like everyone’s just—everyone’s like, rushing. I love it. It—it’s like a high. C: Oh, really? They bring dogs to check? C: Yeah. G: Uhm, when you’re in the Greenbelt station, they bring dogs in. G: No, I go at a time when people don’t travel as much. So I’m more— B: I didn’t know that. C: Ah, so like the off-peak? G: Oh, my God. You were there! B: More relaxed. B: I never knew that. G: So—so I’m more relaxed. Yeah, when I go in, I’m like, G: They do! So like— okay, we’re here. I don’t have to worry about bringing out my money for like—to pay the guy anymore, ‘cause I already B: I take it all the time and I’ve never seen that. Yeah. paid—so I’m like—

G: Maybe when it’s not like rush hour. ‘Cause I go when it’s B: Yeah, yeah. I like that, too. not rush hour. G: Yeah. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. B: I always say thank you, though. I like it when the driver B: Yeah. Or like, not evening. stops, uh, like—there’s only one driver who I notice who always does it for the Makati one. He gets up and looks at G: They would bring like the K-9 unit, go up the bus and go everyone leave. down. C: Ah, really? B: Maybe they do it twice a day lang. It’s like, up to them. B: The others I just shout, “Thank you!” ‘cause he can’t see G: Probably, but whenever I’m there, they check for some me. reason. C: But that’s not a normal thing, right? Not everyone says B: Ohhhh. thank you.

C: Ahhhh. B: Yeah, I think people should, though. I just do it—I do it every time I ride the bus. G: But only in the Greenbelt area. Not—not—not in the area here in Alabang. G: They are very rare.

C: Yeah. C: What are like the common forms of courtesy on the bus? Like, like something that you have to do, or notice—like you G: Uhm, and then—but I’m thinking that’s because there were have to keep quiet or you have to keep your voices low— bombings before in the bus. B: You have to move your bag if people are looking for seats. I B: Maybe, yeah. think people have to do that.

C: Oh, yeah. Maybe. G: Yeah. Or else, since I didn’t want to move my bag, one time I paid for two seats. G: Yeah, before. No, but even when I went before, last year, they had—I was with you and Rosie that time. C: Really?

B: I don’t remember this. G: I refused to move my bag because I didn’t think we were gonna fit. G: They had the dog—went up, went down, only checked the first bus, not the second bus. So. - 12 - B: There was one, uhm—I think people need to… right, ‘cause girl who needed to exit first with a wheelchair exited. So, yeah. like in the Makati one, there’s like a lower seat and that’s for That’s good. like the elders, or the PW—whatever— G: I think the seniors are nicer in the P2P bus— C: PWDs. B: Yeah! B: Yeah. D’s. And then, I think people… since they’re expecting it to be super puno, they still go for those seats. I think G:—as compared to the regular bus, because in the regular bus we should fill up the back first. And then we can go for those they’re gonna question you. If you’re not a senior and you’re seats after. like PWD, they’re gonna question you, “Why are you sitting there?” Because they think it’s only for seniors when it’s C: Yeah. actually seniors and PWDs.

G: No, but sometimes I—people sit on those seats and then— C: Oh, okay. So on the regular bus, there’s space even for seniors. B: And then they get up— G: Yeah. In the front, there’s like the first two rows—uh, it’s G: —the driver tells them to move. for seniors and PWDs. But the seniors think it’s just for the seniors. B: Yeah, there’s that. Sometimes they don’t. C: Right, right. G: If there’s no senior or whatever. G: Or pregnant. So one of my friends, we rode it one time and B: But other times people automatically go there. Like why are they were telling her, “You have to move. It’s only for seniors you even—? When the bus is like, like there’s no one yet and you’re not pregnant.” She said, no, she’s PWD. And there—people automatically sit down. I’m like, why are you they’re like, parang, “Go ahead, show your card.” Parang they there? You’re so—you’re younger than me. were hassling her pa. Then she said, “I have cancer.” Suddenly everyone kept quiet. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. G: You never know. They can still have a condition. G: But in the P2P bus, it’s like, if you sit there, they think that B: Yeah, like—I’m— you—you have a card. If ever, the bus driver will ask, but the other passengers are more like, nicer. They’ll just assume. So G: You’re discriminating, my gosh. the people who actually ride—no, sorry—the Alabang to Makati and the Alabang to BGC bus. For the other routes, I’m B: Yeah, yeah. Andie carries one, even if she looks fine. not really… yeah, it depends.

C: Yeah, yeah. C: Yeah. So it still depends on the route.

B: That’s with her knee lang. That’s it. G: Yeah, so those two routes are like, nicer. I guess the crowd’s nicer. Uhm, the one going to Cavite isn’t— C: Ah, okay. Alright. B: I think everyone from Alaba—Makati one also e. There’s G: I should get one. like a big variety of people who take the Makati one.

B: I should get one too. G: No, as compared to the one taking the Cavite, where someone tried to steal the payong ‘cause it was raining outside— C: Don’t you have a…? C: Oh, my goodness. G: With all my conditions, I have more than them. I should, technically. B: That’s the—no, it’s a different crowd, see.

C: You should. Do you notice any PWD person riding it? G: I know, but it’s still P2P.

G: Yeah. B: It’s Alabang-Makati and Alabang to BGC—

B: Yeah. And then I see the driver help them get the G: I was like, it’s—it’s P2P, why are you trying to steal my wheelchair… something like that. Yeah. payong?

C: Ah, yeah. Okay. That’s nice. B: No, but it’s still a different crowd.

B: That’s the only time the driver will open the—oh, no. I G: Yeah, I know. know one driver who opens the second door all the time, but— actually all of them do. But there was one when the driver B: It’s still Cavite. It’s—it’s different. opened it and he didn’t make anyone exit [through] it ‘til the - 13 - G: I was like, my God. You’re in P2P. You’re stealing my payong pa rin? B: Ooh. I’m gonna search this na.

C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. G: There, that one. So, you can transfer buses. So parang, a whole new crowd can enter and they’re gonna pay at a certain G: But I got my payong. Yeah. Actually it was her payong. It point. But that one you need like a Beep card. broke, but I don’t care. I’m never gonna lose. C: Yeah, yeah. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. B: Oh, you need a Beep card? B: Yeah. That’s true. G: If you don’t start from the beginning. C: Okay, okay. B: Ah, okay. B: That’s what I need to buy also. I wanna buy a [payong]. G: Or if you start like, from Evia already and you don’t pay G: And then there they double check to see if you need like—‘cause there, it’s like a regular bus until the ticket person anything as compared to the other buses. They don’t. goes down. When the ticket person goes down, you can only use the Beep card. B: Yeah, that’s true. C: Aha. C: Okay, okay. B: Hmmm, okay, okay. That’s so fast. But I know people, they G: It’s nicer, those two routes. The other routes, not as much, go to the bus and can only pay cash or whatever. but still better than the regular transport. G: Those are some. Like, if it’s in front of our village, in front C: Cool, cool. Okay, okay. of Tierra Nueva, you can still pay cash. But the minute it hits Evia, you can’t anymore. G: You should try the Cavite one. Wala lang, just for fun. B: But the ones that stop in front of your village, they’re not B: I wanna try, but I can’t e. I don’t have a […]. You know P2P. what— G: They’re P2P. G: I think a lot of people are gonna rob you. C: They are? B: I’ll take it if I have to surprise Kev. G: Yeah. P2P going to Cavite. From Starmall Alabang going to C: Why do you say that they might rob her? Starmall Daang Hari or Vista Mall.

G: ‘Cause they still might rob her on the Cavite thing. Because C: They can stop on the road. technically you can… unlike— G: They’re not supposed to but they do to take more B: Only my med friends would take that. passengers. So it gets super puno to the point na… it’s like I’m riding a regular bus. But it’s aircon. G: Because the one from Alabang going to Makati and BGC, it’s a straight ride. C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it’s like, people are standing pa rin.

C: Yeah. G: Yeah. I usually stand and people from the Northgate call center area, a lot of them ride it. But—so it’s like, it’s still G: Whereas the one going to Cavite, they have many stops. slightly more upgraded than a regular bus, because you pay it And you can actually transfer bus. like minimum, like thirty-five pesos going to a certain place like Evia. Then forty pesos going to Meadows… like, different per B: Ah, like the Manila. Ah, okay, okay. stop… it’s like a regular bus rate but air-conditioned.

G: Yeah, and you can transfer bus. So for example, I’m going C: Ah, okay. to uhm, Daang Hari—Starmall Daanghari, and then I decide—or to Evia, I can suddenly say, okay, Ate V, I’ll G: But I—I don’t—think that there’s that many people who transfer to the Dasma bus. like, steal your stuff there.

B: Oh, it goes to, like, Evia? B: Yeah.

G: Yeah. G: It’s less people but there still are as compared to the Alabang route and it’s not as smelly as a regular bus where like, C: Okay. the peanut people can come up.

G: That’s the one. C: Aha. So the smell is usually like, food. - 14 -

B: It is—there’s a big difference between a regular bus and that bus, that’s it. That’s why it’s called P2P—premium one.

G: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. In P2P, there’s no—you’re not allowed to eat at all. Technically. So you don’t have the vendors going up. Uhm, for the—the one going to Cavite—they too every now and then—

B: It’s just cleaner, that’s it. And you feel safer. ‘Cause the crowd… it’s like a… you pick up everyone else’s vibe e, energies. You start realizing, okay, these are all working people. Quiet. Or like, good with money at least.

G: Yeah, but they don’t allow vendors. They don’t allow—

B: Yeah, they’re very strict. It’s like an airport bus.

G: It’s just—just safer, in general.

B: Yeah, they’re strict e. People follow there.

G: Not you, though.

C: Okay, cool. Do you have anything else to say?

B: Uhm, I’m good. I think that’s it. I love it.

C: Thank you. I actually enjoyed this.

- 15 - 10 JAN 2020 yung ano ko, in terms of commuting. The fastest that can get Transcribed Interview with Myk Noble from point A to point B. Pero of course relative to my budget. Venue: Starbucks, Greenbelt 1 (Legazpi St, Makati) So, yeah. 18:00 C: How long did it usually take before?

C: For the purpose of this recording, can you just tell me your M: Well, when I was starting working hindi pa ganito kalala yung name and your age? traffic ‘no, so one to one and a half hours from Bacoor to Makati. But now with the traffic, talagang sometimes it takes me M: Well, I’m Myk. I’m 34. three to four hours. So, minsan five hours pa if yung queue to the UV Express or whatever before… so yeah. C: And what is your occupation? TIME????? What time did he start? M: Uhm, now I’m working in Standard Chartered Bank as a regulatory compliance officer. C: Do you have any particular memories from that time, before the P2P? I don’t know, yung mga funny stories, C: Okay. And where are you from? anecdotes...

M: I’m from Bacoor, Cavite. [During the week] I’m living in M: Well, sa UV madaming funny stories. Madaming funny and Makati. annoying stories, to be honest, sa UV.

C: Ok, that was my second question, where you live currently. C: Can you give some examples? So, I understand that you go home every now and then? M: Well, yung people sleeping on, sa UV, minsan talagang naka- M: Yeah. Siguro mga… if--if--if my time permits, every weekend. bend over na sa ‘yo na parang (demonstrates). There was also one But usually, mga twice a month umuuwi ako. time na, a couple of times actually, na minsan pag umuuwi ka after drinks ‘no, talagang lumalagpas ako sa (gasps) lumalampas ako sa bahay C: Ah, okay. So before the P2P, how did you move around? namin. And then may nakaaway--madami na akong nakaaway sa UV Express for all sorts of reasons like mga tipong namimili sa M: Well, uhm, before kasi when there was Uber, ano-- upuan,gusto sila nila sa side na ‘to or tipong yun nga, pag may nakakainom… daming... gusto nila yung aircon, nasa kanila lang. The, C: Yeah. the… very minor stuff, ‘no, na talagang very annoying. So… but sometimes you also get to meet people. 'di ba, yung parang, ‘Uy!’ M: So there was Uber, ‘di pa ganoon kamahal yung that kind of May makaka… Minsan nandoon yung classmates mo from way transportation… Yun yung tina-take ko. Uhm, but since nagmahal before, I mean, yung mga… yeah, so I think it’s uh, well, funny na, before P2P, UV Express talaga. and annoying nga. I think that’s the term.

C: Ah, okay. C: How do you go to work now? I mean, if you could just elaborate. Before you moved to… ah, yeah. M: Oo, but, but if--if, during weekends kasi very limited din yung UV, so it’s very hard for me to… to ano, to commute kapag M: Now kasi, ano, I rent nearby lang so I just walk, oo, walk from [ganun], so… yeah. office and yun nga, medyo tumatanda ka na rin, so parang ayaw mo na yung hassles of commuting. So parang, it’s either… well, talagang C: Okay. I forgot to mention, uhm, so... because my research is mas mahal if I… my, my expenses now are much more very qualitative, so it’s, it’s nice if you could elaborate a bit expensive kasi nga I’m staying here in Makati. So… But yun nga, more... since sobrang traffic na, parang I cannot imagine doing it every day. Oo. Even if, even with P2P. So parang for me, yun nga - it’s… I M: Ah, yeah, okay. Sige. have to choose, ‘di ba? Makatipid nang kaunti, makatipid ka, pero sobrang pagod mo naman day in, day out. Or medyo mahal yung C: But your answers so far have been great. Okay. Uhm, so gastos, but the comforts of it naman [are there.] could you tell me about yourself as a commuter? Like, from the beginning, or at least from the recent past, leading up to your C: So it’s a give and take. P2P taking? M: Yeah, oo. M: Okay. Well, I think... To be honest, ‘no, my opinion of it is that, siyempre, the more na you earn, the more--I mean, it’s a C: Okay. When did you start taking the P2P? very relative--for me it’s very relative to your purchasing power, uhm… in the sense na siyempre when I was starting at M: Feeling ko isa ako sa mga early ano niyan e, noong nalaman, noong work, wala akong pera. I came from a very middle-class family. nakita ko -- the moment noong medyo nakita ko na yung mga ad, yung mga Noon wala akong car, uhm… so talagang depende sa budget ko, so ano nila na merong, there’s an announcement. So I think, if I before talaga wala akong chance to rent here in Makati because recall it correctly, nakita ko lang siya sa Spot.ph. the prices are so high, so talagang everyday I commute from Bacoor to Makati. So I, I endure all the hassles of, of C: Ah talaga? commuting no, so… jeep, if I need to take a jeep, the tricycle, UV Express… I mean, the fastest way. Ako talaga, ganun yung,

- 1 - M: Oo. Parang doon ko ata siya unang nakita na parang, ‘Oh! May mga C: Ah, okay, okay. Uhm, do you remember the first few times ganito na palang, uhm, mode, ‘no,’ So, yeah, I think medyo early that you took the P2P? Like, do you have memories…? ano, early user ako ng P2P. M: Yeah, yeah. C: Okay. C: Could you talk about it a bit? M: And then yun nga, as you mentioned, eventually padami na nang padami and right now meron na ring P2P dito--though every M: Well, yung first ano ko talaga, I was impressed. Impressed in Mondays to Fridays lang--na near, ang last stop niya is a mall near the sense na yun nga, ang ganda nung bus. I mean, it’s not the na sa bahay namin. usual buses na, yung sa EDSA ‘di ba, na talaga namang amoy pa lang, and uh… I mean, physically, hindi na attractive. Ito maganda C: Okay. Why did you start taking the P2P? talaga, the seats are okay and yung aircon, okay. And yun nga, very strict din yung driver. I was impressed. I mean, yung mga first M: Well, compared to UV, malayo. Malayo yung comfort. For ano ko naman, very impressive naman siya. And I actually, parang one, yun nga, right now bago pa yung buses. Tapos walang mga tayuan. ano ako noon sa mga kakilala ko na taga-South din, parang, “Uy, may Lahat, all passengers, required na maupo lang. Second, it’s faster. bagong… I mean, you can take this route.” Faster. Faster kasi nga, dalawang point - I mean, point to point siya. Walang mga stop stop. And very strict yung mga drivers na C: Did you notice anything that changed within you as a they don’t allow na pwedeng tumigil lang kahit saan, even if it’s [at commuter when you entered the bus or took the bus? Parang, a] stoplight, hindi sila nagpapababa, which is very, very effective nag-iba ba yung body language mo, for instance, or may nag-iba sa for me. Atsaka parang sa ‘akin, it’s also instilling discipline among schedule mo, or something? Filipinos eh. Kasi tayo, very ano tayo, sanay tayo, ‘Bababa ako anywhere, anytime’, 'di ba? So yun, I think for me okay siya M: Sa P2P ba? Well, yun nga, siyempre, since itong P2P may talaga, that aspect. timetable, so mas conscious ka na, ‘di ba? Ako, parang I’ll make sure na tsine-check ko kung, kung aabot ba ako doon sa schedule nila C: Can you tell me, paano ka nagcommute before? Say from the na departure. So I think na, hindi mo naman yan, na hindi ka naman house sa Bacoor. Ah, Bacoor, ‘di ba? Bacoor to Makati. Like ano conscious sa ganyan if, if you just take the UV Express or you yung-- take the normal bus, ‘di ba? Since ito mayroon silang time schedule, you also get more conscious, na, “Ops! Abot ba ako?” M: Step-by-step ko na ano. Sa Bacoor… so first I walk. I can take kung anong time yung next na, na schedule na I can take, 'di ba? So a tricycle but I walk na lang, I prefer to walk doon sa gate ng in that sense, I guess may nagbago. Uhm, body language, I don’t subdivision. Then from the gate of the subdivision I take a know. I, I… parang wala naman siguro. But siyempre, parang yun nga, jeepney ride to the UV express terminal, so that’s around, siguro parang medyo, since nasanay ka na doon sa comfort ng P2P, parang… depending on the traffic, mga ten to thirty minutes. So from siyempre, you have this wishful thinking na sana ganoon lahat. Oo. I the UV express terminal, depending on the queue, sometimes really prefer it over taking the ordinary buses or UV. the queue can take you an hour, especially during rush hour. So from the UV express terminal, ayan, diretso na yan to Ayala, C: Uhm… when was the last time you took it? Makati. So, baba lang ako near Makati Med, then I just walk to the office. Yun yung, if ever, magko-commute ako on a daily basis. M: Last weekend? I guess. Last weekend. From our house, ganoon yung magiging route. And then pabalik naman, I also need to either walk from our office or take a C: Okay. So can you compare it to your experience now? The jeepney to the terminal in SM. So doon yung UV express first time, the first few times that you took it versus the more terminal. So from UV there, yun na, sa gate ulit, tapos I just walk. recent times that you took it. May difference ba?

C: And then when it was the P2P, you take the jeep to M: In terms of… I think… overall, e parang very minor lang Alabang? naman. The only observation na nakita ko is that more people are, are using it, which is good for the business. But siyempre as a M: With P2P, kasi nga weekends ako nagpi-P2P, so sometimes I commuter, ‘yun, minsan may queue na. Yeah, especially if rush ensure na ime-meet ko sister ko doon or if ever man talaga, what I hour is there. Before kasi, very kaunti talaga e. Uh, very… maaano do is I just walk here sa P2P sa Greenbelt and then pagdating sa mo talaga na… people are… hindi pa masyadong aware siguro at Town Center is either I meet with my sister, tapos sabay na kami that time. Or… and, and I think medyo mas mahal siya nang kaunti, uuwi, or if wala talagang choice, I take the Grab. Or I can also if I compare it to UV or the normal buses, ‘di ba? So, uhm, take a UV Express to our place in Bacoor. siguro that is also a consideration for some people noon, but since very traffic na ngayon, they also do the P2P, ‘no? I also know C: Okay, okay. Thank you. So, just for the purpose of this some people from the South… what they do is just... magpa- recording, the route that you take with the P2P is the Alabang park na lang sila sa Alabang, which is cheaper, and then mag- Town Center-- P2P sila to Makati going to work. Ganoon yung iba. So… technically naka-save sila sa parking, kasi ang mahal ng parking M: Yup, Alabang Town Center to Greenbelt. dito. May mga ganoon din akong kilala. So, yun lang yung observation ko, I guess, from the first time I used it. Now, more people are C: But now… you haven’t tried the new one, yung malapit sa using it, so mas [may] queue, mas laging puno yung buses--before bahay niyo? kasi, parang mabibilang mo pa talaga kung ilan lang yung tao doon sa bus e. [But] still manageable. M: I tried na rin. It’s a different service provider din. It’s Metro Express yata. C: I asked this already, but how often do you take the P2P?

- 2 - M: Ako siguro… yeah, the most siguro in a month, back and forth, eight times. That’s the maximum, kasi every weekend. C: How has taking the P2P changed the ways in which you But, but mostly four times a month. know Manila? Do you think you know Manila better or less? Or has it opened your eyes to something? C: Ah, okay. Uh, how do you think your--okay, this doesn’t apply to you kasi yun nga, hindi ka as frequent, but how do you M: Well, ako kasi talaga from the South ako. So ang Manila sa think your life has changed? akin hanggang Guadalupe lang ata.

M: Hmmmm. In a way, it helped me move, ‘no. C: Ako rin.

C: Ah! M: Pag after lumagpas na ako sa tulay na yun, medyo… “Shet, nasaan na ba ako?” So I don’t know. M: Oo. I mean kasi yung Town Center talaga that’s our ano e, parang family place pag weekends. I mean, yung go-to mall namin. C: Ah, okay. Pareho. So, at least, if ever, kahit, if ever I intend na hindi na umuwi sa Bacoor, parang I can meet them there. M: And this route naman is still in the south side of Manila.

C: Ah, yeah. C: That’s true.

M: ‘Di ba. Na parang pwede akong mag-meet sa kanila, kahit--“Oh, I M: Well, siguro, in general, kasi siyempre nakapag--naka-travel na can meet you Saturday night, as long as may P2P”, ‘di ba? It’s rin tayo sa ibang lugar, ang--sa akin, Manila… the state of easier for me. Before kasi parang, “Shocks. Paano ako commute in Manila is still… one of, parang, ang pangit pa rin. It’s magkokomyut?” So, I think in that sense very helpful siya. really not good, ‘no? Uhm, if I compare it with other--even other Southeast Asian cities na nag--na-visit ko, parang… C: Are there things that you notice on your commute sa P2P? nakakalungkot, ‘no. Nakakalungkot that… that, ganoon yung transport It can be very mundane, it can be very boring, it can very situation natin sa Metro Manila in general, ‘no… so, at least ito small, pero something that [jumps at you]-- ngang P2P… for me it’s a big step eh. I’m really happy about it. To be honest, ‘no. Kasi, yun nga… it’s one way of instilling M: Saan? Ako, as a commuter? Or even the people-- discipline amongst all of us kasi we’re very--ako talaga yun yung… yan ang kinahihiya ko sa Pinoy. We’re very… hindi tayo disiplinadong C: Even the people, or yourself. tao talaga as compared to other countries. Parang, oh, my God. Ang layo talaga. Uhm, so I think this is a very big leap, ‘no. I M: Wala naman. Ako sa sarili ko, I don’t know. Well, wala naman. I don’t know if I’ve gotten to know Manila more, but for me it’s- mean, that has direct im--effect from the P2P, ‘no? So, I think -it helps talaga. It really helps. It’s… parang... something na sana wala naman. But I observed ‘no, I observed lang din, siguro, the we can be proud of, ‘no, na to improve our transport situation. target market--and this is my opinion ha, so I don’t know if you agree with it--my opinion is the target market of the P2P are C: Yeah, uhm… have you ever had any bad encounters sa those--especially this route that I’m taking--is more on the P2P? upper, upper side, ‘no. Kasi I noticed from the people na kasabay mo, all of you are professionals, or most--most of you are M: So far, wala pa naman na parang talagang dine-dread ko. professionals… uhm, yun nga, young professionals… alam mo na dito sila nagwo-work, medyo in a sense, parang there’s a sense of C: Ah, oo. security din, ‘di ba, na… like if you take the normal buses na tayuan, maraming pickpockets. Pero [dito] parang may certain niche M: So, wala pa naman. of individuals na sumasakay e, na parang as a commuter, parang for me that’s… ‘di ba parang, I feel more secure ‘no. Ah, lahat naman C: Okay, okay. Uhm, okay. How would you describe yourself ‘to, pare-pareho lang kaming nagtatrabaho sa Makati. So, we share, as a commuter? we share the same agony, ika nga ‘di ba. So parang, in that sense, hindi ka masyadong conscious siguro, ‘di ba, unlike if nasa MRT ka M: Well, yun nga, siguro, since medyo nagkaka-purchasing power or nasa bus ka na public bus, na parang, “Shocks, baka mamaya na rin tayo, tumatanda... uhm, I guess I’m getting picky na rin siguro madukutan ako” or anything, ‘di ba. So, I think in that sense, yun on how I move from one point to another. Even minsan pag sa yung napansin ko. Mas relaxed ka ba. tingin ko sobrang layo ng pupuntahan ko...ay, parang ako na yung humihindi na parang, I can let… I mean, kasi, pag bata ka, “O, meet C: Do you use the time to meditate, or I don’t know-- tayo kahit sa QC! I’ll go to QC!” ‘di ba? Ngayon pag medyo tumatanda ka na, medyo nagkakapera ka na, parang you’re already M: Oo naman, Diyos me! Pag nagkokomyut ka, sa haba ng commute parang willing to shell out more for comfort, uhm… saying no mo, kung anu-ano na ang naiisip mo, ‘no. Oo. kapag sobrang layo, sobrang traffic, ayokong pumunta diyan, ang mahal ng Grab, ng way ko diyan, whatever… yeah, as yung… yung attitude C: May examples ka ba? ko towards commuting nagbabago in the sense na, yun nga, mas depende sa situation mo na rin ngayon. M: I mean, from, I mean… life in general. Kung anu-ano yung naiisip mo, 'di ba? Your work, your family… I mean… minsan C: What does commuting mean to you? As in if I ask you to yung ka-chat mo, kung sinu-sino, so I mean… yung commute kasi associate it with certain words, or what does it--what is dito sa Philippines, ano eh, it takes a lot of your time. So madami commuting and what does the commuter mean to you? Do you ka talagang maiisip during that period. Sometimes you can even have any words that come to mind? work, dahil may mobile phone ka. So… ‘di ba. - 3 - M: Mmmmm… Commuting, for me kasi, commuting is A Point A Point B - going from Point A to Point B. For me that’s C: Sino nagsabi sa yo? Yung guard? commuting. Whether you take your own car - it’s still a commute. For me that’s still a commute. Just… yun ang M: May parang ano lang sila diyan, paper na, oo, nakalabas. concept ko of a commute - it’s a travel. Uhm, Commuter, I So… ‘di ba. Sad. Nakakainis. don’t know. Wala akong maisip to be honest… Well, I think all of us are commuters. C: Sana inannounce nila.

C: Kahit yung naglalakad… M: Oo.

M: Yeah, yeah. C: Ito na naman. It’s another theoretical question, especially since you also mentioned rhythm. So if I ask you, what is C: True, true. Okay. This one is a bit theoretical, yung tanong rhythm for you? When you relate it to being able to move, or ko, but for instance, does riding the bus mark a new rhythm for being mobile…? you in the day? Like, when you step on the bus, does it mean, “Ah, parang, okay, papunta na akong work. Ah, pauwi na M: Mmmm, well, rhythm kasi for me, it’s a… parang, my own ako.” Or something like that. pace versus ano yung pace ng movement ng ano, o ‘di ba. Sometimes kasi nagbabago yung rhythm mo depende sa M: P2P ba? Or in general? environment mo, ‘di ba, so… ah, ako kasi very fast ako kumilos e. Fast walker ako. Gusto ko mabilis. I mean, if ever 0 yun nga, C: In this case, P2P. yun yung ano ko - gusto ko the fastest route possible, ‘di ba. So for me that’s rhythm. Yung ano ko nga, it’s your pace but also M: Sa P2P… Well, ako, if… kasi nga ginagamit ko yung P2P, the pace of your environment. Kasi nagb[abago] - parang, it’s parang, there’s always a--I have to meet someone… from my connected e, for me. family. I mean yun yung ano ko, pagnagpi-P2P ako, “Ah, uwi ako ng bahay.” So alam kong papunta ako sa bahay, ano… to C: Okay. Again, this might be confusing, but I think you meet [family ko]… that’s what… what--yun yung, oo, answered this already. When are you a commuter? meaning sa akin nung commute ko from P2P. Kasi yun yung ginagamit ko siya for. M: When?

C: Ah, okay. So, I’m curious. For other forms ngayon, ano C: Yeah. When are you a commuter? Are there things or are yung meaning noon? For instance, magdyi-jeep ka somewhere, there rhythms that you relate to commuting? or-- M: What do you mean when are you a commuter? M: Well, kasi yun nga, mas lagi na akong P2P pag pauwi, so parang yun na yung ano ko, uhm, yung rhythm ko ‘di ba. C: So, for instance, nung tinanong ko ‘to sa isang interviewee Ngayon kasi pag nag-Grab ako, for example, alam ko papunta ko, yung sagot niya, “Ah, waiting.” For instance. Sinabi niya if lang ako somewhere to meet my friends or alam mo yun. Hindi there’s anything she relates to commuting, it’s a lot of waiting kasi ako nagga-Grab to Bacoor kasi sobrang mahal. Hindi din time. ako nagga-Grab to Alabang, kasi sobrang mahal rin, kasi magto-toll pa ako and stuff. Unless emergency 0r whatever. M: Mmmmm. And walang P2P at that time. Yun lang. Yun lang yung sa akin. C: So for you, is there anything like that?

C: Ah, okay. M: Well, yeah, oo, the queue pa din. In general ha, in general, not specific to P2P, in general madami pa rin tayong queue. M: Ah, naalala ko pala. Bad experience ko lang pala with P2P - Queueing, maybe because of the traffic, a lot of factors din, so well, it’s not, well, not naman the fault of the management of uhm, but in P2P naman kasi, ako wala naman akong na- the P2P, pero nung December kasi, I have to meet my high eexperience sa sobrang haba ng hinintay ko. Siguro the max is school friends in Alabang on a Saturday. And then apparently thirty minutes? Uhm, which is something I’m very happy pagpun[ta] - nagmamadali pa ako noon kasi hinahabol ko about. So, uhm, yeah. Wala namang ano. yung nine am ano, nine am schedule. Pagdating ko dito, Christmas party pala nila! C: Yeah. Then the second question that I had - when are you a commuter and when are you not? Basically, there was one C: Shocks! interviewee who said something like the minute she steps off the bus, “Ah, okay--” M: So, walang P2P! And walang announcement, wala akong nakita sa Face[book] - usually kasi I check e… M: “I’m no longer a commuter.”

C: Ah, oo, yeah. Ah, shocks! C: “Employee na ako. Okay, I need to go to work.” Parang ganoon. So is there something like that for you? M: Walang announcement! Pagdating ko dito, “Oh, no! Walang P2P!” So I had to take the - ano pa yun, actually it’s M: Well, ako siguro when I’m not a commuter anymore, as not Saturday, Sunday yun, so walang UV din sa SM! So I need long as makatungtong na ako sa, sa point na gusto ko - I mean, to take the normal bus. So yun lang naman yung bad nakita ko na yung friends ko, nakauwi na ako sa bahay ko, I’m experience. Naalala ko lang. no longer a commuter. But the moment I’m moving from my - 4 - place to whatever place I’m in to another place, I’m still a M: O sige, sure. Sure, sure, walang problema. commuter. For me, that’s--that’s my concept of it. C: And uhm, I’m not sure kasi if it will be useful in the end, but C: Okay, okay. What do you do during the ride on the bus? Do it would be nice to put it up as part of my research. you sleep? Do you notice other people? Do you feel the space? Does the space have an impact on you? M: Sige.

M: Oo naman. The space has an impact on me. Parang pag… C: And then, another thing is in the next time that you siyempre pag siksikan nakakabuwisit talaga, ‘di ba? Parang, commute, maybe -- kailan ka ba babalik? If ever? you can’t help it ‘di ba, parang especially if may mabaho or pawisan and whatever, yung parang nakakainis. Especially if, I M: Mmmm, baka next weekend. mean if maayos kang umalis ng bahay, ‘di ba -- malinis kang umalis. And then you have to deal with it na ganoong situation. C: Ah, okay. Do you think I can tag along? It, it really affects your mood, your rhythm, your… alam mo yun, your outlook. I mean yung ano mo ‘di ba--parang, M: From here. “Nakakainis naman!” I mean, yung, your mood really changes e. Yeah, I think yun. Uhm, sa space naman ng P2P, I have no C: Oo, from here. issues kasi nga hindi naman nagpapatayo, uhm, lahat kayo nakaupo, even if, uh, nilalagyan nila ng seats yung gitna, so M: Sige, I’ll let you know. I’ll let you know ah. very comfortable pa din naman. But yeah, what I do during commuting depends din kasi e. But most of the time I’m just on C: Sige, no pressure. my earphones listening to music. Hindi ako mahilig magbasa during the commute kasi nahihilo ako e. So I just listen to M: Ah, it’s okay, okay. Sabihin ko din naman sa yo kung keri music, ‘no. And emote. ko o hindi.

C: Emote? C: O sige. It doesn’t have to be next week. It can be two weeks from now. M: Yun nga, and reflect. Reflect on what happened during the day, during the week… ano yung kailangan kong gawin, do I M: Until when are you here? have errands to do… yeah, so, yun. [Atsaka] chat with friends ‘no, but… ano pa ba, I don’t usually watch, kasi nga nahihilo C: I’m here until the ninth of Feb. ako. I don’t read during--I don’t know nga e, maybe I aged na rin talaga kasi noong student ako, nagrereview ako sa… sa UV M: Ah, okay. noon e. Oo, ngayon e parang nahihilo na ako pag nagbabasa so I just listen to music. Most of the time I just listen to the C: So may time pa naman. May month pa ako. I mean, if it music. doesn’t happen, it’s fine. But ideally, it’d be cool if we could ride together. C: Okay. So, uhm, I’m trying to collect a lot of media in the form of pictures, videos, even sound recordings kung mayroon. M: Okay, sure! Ano pa? Ano pang questions mo? And then in the event that you go on your next P2P ride, in the next few months, do you think you can take a few… C: So that’s it for now. Tapos if I have any follow-up questions, is it also okay if I contact you? M: Photos of me with the-- M: Sure, sure. Walang problema. Oo, but I may not be able to C: Photos of--kahit not of you-- respond immediately.

M: Sure! C: No worries.

C: Of what you see, anything that may--may take your M: Baka nasa work ako or whatever. So… attention. Like grab your attention. C: No worries, no worries. So yeah, that’s it actually for now. M: Mmmmm, okay. Do you have anything else to say?

C: Doesn’t have to be anything spectacular. Pero you just M: Wala. Sana mas dumami pa yung routes. That’s my wishful explain to me why you found that particular thing [interesting]. thinking.

M: May timeline ka ba kasi I’m not going home this weekend. C: Ideally saan?

C: Wala naman. So kahit in the next few weeks, or the next M: Well, ako… Ako sana within Metro Manila, kung sana month. lahat ng bus ganoon, ‘di ba? Saya sana ‘di ba na…

M: Mmmm, o sige. C: Pero gagawin na yung MRT ‘di ba?

C: No pressure. And if you don’t mind, can I just remind you M: Yeah, oo nga pala. Sana mayroon ding Las Pinas, ‘di ba, every now and then? Las Pinas or Paranaque, or ‘di ba… para madaling puntahan. Alabang to QC kung pwede, ‘di ba, kung may market why - 5 - not? Alabang-Rockwell. Rockwell… ano pa bang pwede… Eastwood… Mga the usual di ba, the usual na pinupuntahan ng tao.

C: Alabang to Ortigas.

M: Oo, Alabang to Ortigas.

- 6 - 18 JAN 2020 kahit P2P siya from ATC it would take me two hours to Transcribed Interview with Michelle Lasam Garcia commute to BGC because yan nga, yung sa nag-close yung sa Venue: Coffee Alley Exchange, Molito SLEX, nag-relocate ng ano, kung baga… hindi… from… dati kasi 16:00 SLEX lang, C5, okay na. Currently—nung, nung—when it was sarado, Skyway, tapos you end up in Merville tapos ang daming ikot. So yun. Baka you realize, you can’t make a correlation. If, if… C: Okay, so, for the purpose of this recording what is your Kung mga normal conditions, ano naman siya, it was [okay]. I name? think yung, yung… ano niya, yung advantage niya is you don’t have to ano, go through several modes of transportation anymore. Kasi M: Michelle Lasam. pag nandoon ka na, you just walk [and] it’s okay na. Yun. Tapos second is… I think—baka mamaya mauna na ako sa ibang questions mo. C: And what is your age? Advantage mo for that is you have a a set time when you would be ano, expecting the next bus. So yun. Kung baga it’s more… at least you have M: 32. more control over your time as compared to [the Alabang normal bus].

C: Uh, what do you do? C: Okay. Okay. Yung next question ko actually is how was that like, yung prior to the P2P. And do you have any particular M: Uhm, architect. memories from that time? Yung anything very normal, very funny, very annoying… frustrating. C: Where are you from? M: It would—sometimes it would take around two hours to M: I'm in Las Pinas. wait for the bus. Yeah. Sobrang funny talaga, na tipong, “What am I doing here?” Kapag ganoon, what do I do? Nagpapasundo na C: And where do you live currently? ako—uuwi na ako. Yeah, ewan. Before ah, before. So it’s very, very… hindi, hindi talaga siya nakakatuwa. M: In Las Pinas. Ay—sorry, I’m, I'm from Quezon City. Yan na lang. C: Tapos everyday yun?

C: Ah, okay. So nag-move ka dito recently— M: Oo. Everyday hassle. Pero I don’t want to bring a car e.

M: For my husband. C: Pero nagda-drive ka?

C: Ah, siya yung taga-dito. Okay, okay. And how long have you G: Oo. Yung husband ko mostly siya yung nagdadala. been here? C: Pero does he also work sa BGC? M: I think like, four, five years na? But we'll relocate pa. M: No. He has his own ano [business]. Contractor kasi. G: Uhm, okay. So you live currently in Las Pinas… Before the P2P, how did you go around? What was your commute like? C: Ah, okay. So now, how do you go to work?

M: For—for work? For BGC? M: Now, I’m ano… a regular taker nung P2P from Alabang. Alabang pa rin. Pero yeah. I can take you through the-- C: For work. Yeah. C: Ah, step by step? M: Yeah… uhm, I go to, ano… to Alabang Star Mall. I still take the bus. Alabang Star Mall, take the bus to EDSA, then sa M: Yeah. Doon naman sa P2P ng ATC… ano naman siya, kung baga BGC bus, then yun, the P2P cut it into ano na lang, one trip from interchangeable naman siya for me. ano, Alabang. C: So could you just describe yung step-by-step [process] mo C: So you've always worked sa BGC area. from the house to BGC? Kung ano yung ginagawa mo.

M: Around five years na. Yeah, for the last five years. M: Alright. Mas detailed kasi. Alright. Uh, first I walk towards the ano, the main avenue. Doon sa Pilar Village kasi. Yeah, ang C: Okay, okay. Could you be a little bit more descriptive about laki. Tapos tricycle, so—you don’t need any costs naman, no? the way you commuted before? Like what time did you have to wake up? Or were there any—how long did it take? Mga ganoon. C: No. You can mention it if you want if it’s relevant for you, kasi so far no one’s really—like in the past interviews that I M: Alright. So, at the onset, when I was commuting I needed had, no one’s really specified the cost—like, they say, “Oh, mas to leave home by around 6:15 to 6:30. Tapos, I—I get to the mahal yung ganito.” But they never specify. But if you wanna office around 8:00 or 8:30 AM. Uhm, I’m thinking kasi, how specify, feel free. can I—iniisip ko paano ko siya iko-connect sa P2P kasi noong sa last work ko, wala na akong oras. I’m so sorry. But in ano—ano lang ha, M: Alright. Eh kasi, sa—sa SURP kasi, transport planning din caveat lang, kasi some—some ano, some factors din kasi that, that ako. Baka mamaya kasi ma-relate mo ‘to sa willingness to pay. come into play is yung traffic talaga dito currently at the South. So baka hindi mo siya ma-correlate na reduction of time kasi like, C: Ah, okay, pwede rin naman.

- 1 - M: […] Anyway, that costs eight pesos. Jeep, nine pesos. Ay, M: More—yun. That’s another ano, naman, recent one e. jeep from, from ano, [Pilar Village], so that’s Alabang-Zapote Road. Tapos you go to ATC na… you go to ATC na, tapos yun. C: Ah talaga? One hundred naman yun. It’s more expensive as compared to the one in ano, in Alabang. That’s like, one hundred ito—one M: Oo. Siguro mga six months? hundred twenty, rather, tapos the one in Alabang costs like, forty-six pesos? So it’s a big jump. However, yung ano, kaunti din C: Do you remember the first few times that you took it, the lang yung difference in terms of the route kasi both of—both P2P? naman are P2P pa rin. P2P but that one ends in Alabang and this one ends in ATC. So at least pasok—medyo nasa loob ka na ng M: Yung sa ATC? Well, of course, it’s less congested, so to Alabang / Las Pinas area. So yun. You can consider that. So speak, kasi hindi allowed yung nakatayong passengers. So it’s yun. Tapos after noon, alight sa Market Market tapos lakad na lang more—it’s ano, safer, I think, kasi medyo, alam mo yung, yung mga to the office. kasabay mo, they were able to sleep lang talaga, kaagad, as compared doon sa from [Alabang] na kung baga, you’re cramped. C: When did you start taking the P2P? You’re cramped. Tapos may mga nakatayo pa. So hindi siya komportable, tapos yung P2P to ATC, ano rin, they close [out]— M: From—from ano no, ATC? Like around… siguro one year nagdi-dim sila ng lights, so it’s more comfortable for people there ago. to take a nap… ganoon. It’s—it’s ano, nakikita mo rin, parang different din yung market, I can say. So to speak ah. Kasi parang C: Ah, so quite recent lang. kapag ATC, like—or matapobre lang ako—di, joke lang, sorry. Hindi, pero it’s—ano—it’s a different ano rin e. Pero in terms of M: Oo. Oo. waiting, medyo similar na rin e. Oo. Kung baga, siyempre, it will depend kung kailan dadating yung susunod na kotse—bus. C: How did you hear about it? C: Do you have any memories that stand out from that time? M: I think—not sure when it—you have data when—when sila nag-start ng route, parang recent lang din e. Not more than M: Sorry, medyo… Well, sige. Parang nagulat lang din yata ako, na two years, nung nag-ano sila, nag-open sila ng BGC, kasi it’s from—yung same route to Alabang, thirty-nine pesos kasi yan usually uhm, Ayala Center in Makati to ATC but not BGC to dati. Ang siningil nila ngayon one hundred. So I did not expect that ATC. That’s a new route, I think. Mga one, two years pa lang jump. Yun lang. Well, sabi ko, well, you pay naman for ako nagta-take. convenience.

C: Okay. So how did you hear about that? Word of mouth? C: Okay. Was it hard to get used to? Was it easy to get used to?

M: Yeah, I think—yeah, word of mouth lang. Kung baga, doon sa M: Uhm, I think it was easy to get used to because I was riding terminal in Market Market, someone was saying na mayroon another P2P route […]. siyang—yung, yung bababaan na noon was in ATC na. So, yeah, I just tried it tapos I didn’t even know how much it cost. Sabi ko, C: Ah, okay. Can you compare the first few times to the times “Ah, okay, at least, nasa loob ka na.” So yun, I was able to now—yung mga mas recent times na tinake mo. Was there compare both naman. Yun. anything different?

C: This might sound redundant, pero why did you start taking M: Yeah. I think better na ngayon because they were able to… it? so kung baga, to improve yung pagdating ng buses and the ticketing. Nag-aano na sila, nagka-card— M: Uhm, I started taking it, yun nga kasi I wanted to cut the transition points between different modes of transport. That’s C: Ah, nagka-card na sila, yung Beep card. it. M: Oo. Naggaganun din sila, so yeah. I think some semblance of C: My next question is again redundant. improvement naman. Nakakakita naman noon. Okay naman. Okay naman… Pero in terms of the time… of course, you can’t really M: It’s okay. It’s okay. ano naman e, blame them kasi, yung traffic talaga in SLEX, you can’t ano, you can’t… oo. C: Which route—so the route that you take is the BGC- Alabang [route and] vice versa. C: Yeah. Actually kahapon nag-BGC ako. Nag-P2P ako tapos… I’ve been taking the Greenbelt 1 route a lot of times. Kahapon M: BGC-Alabang, BGC-ATC, tapos yung bago sa – ah yeah, the lang ako nag-BGC. Tapos nasurprise [ako]—or [medyo] na-annoy Greenbelt 1 or 2— lang ako kasi yung BGC, hindi siya on time. Yun lang. I was like, “Ha?” Nakita ko nang umalis yung Greenbelt tapos nandoon pa kami C: 1— sa Town.

M: —1 to ATC. Oo. Tapos fourth, meron pa eh. Sa gilid ng M: Oo. Glorietta. Meron sa Southmall naman. So apat. C: Yun lang. C: Yeah, meron yata akong kausap. Yung sa Southmall yung [ginagamit] niya. M: Yun lang din. Isa pa yun ah – I’m not sure if… kasi usually I take it naman kapag rush hour, before ten am. Pero I’m not sure if - 2 - they ano, kung nagbabawas sila ng trips when medyo office hours na. So baka yun, that’s a contributor. M: Okay.

C: Uhm, okay so again this may sound redundant but my C: How would you describe yourself as a commuter? question is why do you take the P2P now? M: Paano, paano? Sige, okay. M: Uhm, yun nga— C: So for example, yung isang ininterview ko, nung tinanong ko ‘to, C: Same reason. sinabi niya, ‘I’m a very prepared commuter.’ Tapos another one said, ‘I’m a very paranoid commuter.’ Tapos yung isa naman, sabi M: Same reason—safety, convenience, tsaka reduced number niya, ‘I wouldn’t call myself a commuter, because I don’t of transition points. commute as much as other people.’ Mga tipong ganoon.

C: For the purpose of this recording, how often do you take the M: Ah, alright. Uhm, I think I can be yung una, the prepared P2P? one because before I ano, take—before I commute, of course I check my stuff, tapos I check the fares. Ganoon. Yun nga e, yung M: When I was working, five to eight times, I think? In a week. nagtse-check if there’s a particular route when I commute. Yun. So workdays. Workdays. C: Dati hindi ka ganoon? C: Okay. How do you think your day-to-day life has changed? M: Hindi. Dati QC lang e. Ang dali-dali ng buhay e. Napadpad ako M: Uhm, it changed because—uhm, teka. I think there was a dito e. reduction in my commute time. C: Ang layo. C: Okay. Do you have more examples? Kahit smaller day to day, little things na— M: E ganoon talaga. Ganoon lang. Hindi, joke lang. UP ka rin e.

M: I have more control over my time now because yun nga e, C: Dati nagdo-dorm ako sa Katipunan. kasi, yung transition mo to other modes of transportation like the BGC Bus, you can’t control naman yung time na naman doon. So M: Ah, nice! another waiting time—at least ito, one time wait—waiting schedule, tapos that’s it. Okay na. Matulog ka na lang. Bahala na. C: Doon rin ako for most of college life. Tapos weekends lang ako Kung baga… you can’t really do much naman about the traffic. uuwi. Everyone is suffering from it naman, so yeah. M: Oh, my gosh. C: Okay, okay. Uhm, what are some things you notice on the commute? When you ride on the P2P? C: Kasi otherwise, ang hassle rin talaga to go back and forth.

M: Yeah… kung baga they… they ano naman, they are… anong M: Oo! Arki pa— tawag dito… very, very comfortable yung chairs—yung seats, rather. Tapos yun nga, I appreciate na during evenings, they dim C: Arki pa! Di ba gabi pa yung classes. the lights, so at least you can rest tapos wala ka nang maririnig na kung anong malakas na tugtugan, na nagkukuwentuhan… lahat tulog! O, M: Hindi mo na naabutan yung bagong building doon? so di ba, […] funny siya. Eh yun. Kung baga, that’s what I appreciate… ano, that they do. Yung simple act of dimming the C: Yung pinakabago? Hindi, hindi. Yung ano lang— lights and ano, kung baga, turning down the curtains. Ayun. M: May elevator na! C: How has taking the P2P changed the way you know Manila? So do you think you know Manila better? Nag-change C: May elevator na?! ba yung perception mo of Manila, or anything, any new insight? M: May elevator na. M: Yeah. When I’m commuting… when I’m commuting, uhm, I usually check if there’s a—it’s not only ano ah, uhm… C: Nakita mo na ba? Di ba big issue yun, nung start. anong tawag dito, yung ATC-BGC route. Kung baga I check if it’s covered by a P2P route. Like kunwari, from Katipunan to, to M: Ah, sorry, mawawala lang. Nakita ko—hindi, pinuntahan ko si Sir ano, Makati. Nic, kasi siya yung nag-endorse sa akin yung sa SURP. So parang nag-abot lang ako ng Christmas gift or token, tapos pagkakita niya sa C: Mayroon na ba? akin, it was like, ‘Pucha. Sir, anong ginawa ko?’ Siguro sobrang tagal lang kasi ako nakabalik. Pero ayun. Balik na tayo […]. M: Mayroon. Yes. Yes. So di ba, tipong kapag naisip mo yun when you’re from [the] South and you’re studying in UP, it’s better C: Yung next question ko, medyo theoretical. Or rather, I will just na. So yun. Kapag—that’s, that’s ano—yun yung ginagawa ko, tsine- ask you to, to correlate this word to whatever you may think of check ko lang kaagad. Pero in terms of learning, learning ano, when you’re talking about someone who is mobile. So the word about Manila, parang di masyado. I’m sorry. is rhythm. What is rhythm for you? If you think of it—if you think of yourself as someone who is mobile and is able to move C: It’s okay. around. So for instance, yung isang interviewee ko, yung first ano - 3 - niya, yung first correlated word niya was music, kasi musical siya. M: Yeah. Car-centric tayo. Mga frustrations ko lang. So kapag— Pero later on, sabi niya, “It’s when I’m in sync with others.” Yung pag tinawag—interesting lang. When you get called a commuter iba naman, yung isang sinagot nung isang person, rhythm to her is here in the Philippines, “Ouch!” her movement versus other people’s movements. So not necessarily in sync. So yun. So if I ask you the same question, C: Yeah. Negative yung connotation— how would you describe rhythm? M: Di ba? Very negative yung connotation because… kung M: Well, kung baga, I want to, siyempre, correlate to your ano— baga… it’s… cars, or taking the ano, yung private transport is considered I think na parang ano… anong tawag dito, status C: Ah, you don’t have to, ah— symbol. Kung baga it’s a sign that you’ve made it. Of course, pero… kung baga… that’s why I don’t, I don’t ano… I don’t M: Hindi, of course. Kung baga, it’s rhythm, it’s movement, if I bring one. Pero of course you should learn how to [drive], talaga relate it to myself, yeah, kung baga my movement from one naman. place to another… mobility, mga ganoon. C: That’s true, kasi yung sa other interview ko, for instance, I had C: Okay. Does riding the bus signify or mark any particular to define commuting first. Parang ano, in this case, commuting rhythm for you? For instance, pagsakay mo sa bus, ibig sabihin, would include all forms of mobility. So that’s: bringing your “Okay, now I’m on my way to work. Or now pwede na akong own car, biking, or walking even. Yung mga ganoon. Which is mag-relax.” why my other interviewee said, “I don’t consider myself as a commuter kasi I don’t do it as often.” M: Parang ano… yeah, oo. It does. It does. Yung, yung BGC- ATC, it’s like, I can relax. Tapos after noon, masusundo na ako and M: Yun nga, di ba? Negative. Kung baga, it’s ano… other I’m good. That’s it. When you’re, you’re on your way to work, countries, when you commute, okay, pupunta ka sa ganitong lugar. wala nang kokon—wala nang balakid, so to speak. Parang ano ka na Pero—when here, when you get called a commuter, ano ka— lang, maglalakad ka na lang. So yeah. So it’s ano… it’s nakaka-relax in a way. C: Parang may—

C: Have you ever encountered anything negative sa P2P M: Yeah. Yun lang. Pero that’s another interesting ano. experience? C: Off topic, but then—so your work right now, transport M: Wala naman. I’m good, I’m good. planning ka?

C: When’s the next time you’re gonna take the P2P? Would M: Oo. you know? May schedule ka ba? C: Ah, okay. That’s new. M: Super tagal. kasi ano e, di na ako nagkokomyut. Siguro next month? Going back to the office. M: Pero hindi—hindi pa ako nag-aano muna, nagpapahinga muna ako. It’s like, sobrang stress yung dati kong trabaho so medyo pahinga muna C: Okay kasi, as part of my fieldwork, I was inviting all my ako. Siguro mga one month ako—one month babalik na rin ako. interviewees including you, the next time you ride, do you mind, I dunno, if you want, you can take a photo, a video, or a C: Okay. Wala lang, kasi interesting, kasi ang daming transport sound recording of some sort. So I’m collecting all sorts of projects ngayon, di ba? media, and hoping that by collecting all this, maybe something will sprout […] from this collection. We’ll see. Kasi it might be M: Oo. interesting. So yun. And yeah, if you want to contribute to that… C: So public sector ka or private sector?

M: Sure. If I ano, if I do commute pa. Sorry. M: Public. Pero yung dati ko kasi, real estate […]. So yun, parang planning ng communities. Doon. Doon ako e. Architect planner. C: Pwede ba kitang i-follow up next month? […] Pero ang galing din noong sa iyo.

M: Yeah, sure. Kasi usually sumasabay na lang ako sa husband ko C: Ah, hindi. Actually, yung interest ko talaga is about—is built on e. I don’t commute anymore. Pero sige, go. mobility studies. So I try not be as political in terms of the studies. C: What words do you relate to ‘commute’? M: Yeah. Wag. Wag. M: Commute? Mobility, safety, uhm, parang… in the Philippines, sobrang degraded. Seriously ah, as compared to the C: Kasi I try—parang in some way I feel like I can’t do it justice, other countries kasi dito lang ako—transport planning per se ah— to take up politics in terms of infrastructure, ganoon. dito lang ako nakakita na nakaka-demoralize mag-commute. As compared—when you go to other countries na naka-suit, naka- M: Ah, no—eh, kung baga sa akin din, you don’t want to talk Rolex, nagte-train, naglalakad… Dito, kahit—first priority kapag about something that you’re not an expert of. Yeah, so kaya nga nagtatrabaho, what [do] they buy? They buy a car. Yeah. So yun. I was asking you if you need keywords like willingness to pay, yung commute time kasi yun yung sa transport—ano namin. Pero C: That’s true. kung qualitative ka, yan—how did—how did your experience work for you… - 4 - M: May ano—ay I work in the—sa private sector ako, pero… oo, C: Okay. Ito na naman, medyo theoretical. sorry. Pero sige. Yung mga naririnig… yeah. Sa subway. Nagulat nga ako e, that is… that is… medyo namadali. Ano. Ay. Okay. M: Sure. C: Yeah. C: When are you a commuter, and when are you not a commuter? Are there certain parts of the day when you say, […] 32:20 “Okay, ito. [Commuter] na ako.” Ganoon. C: Anyway, what do you do during the ride, on your M: Yeah. Kung baga, during—during—anong tawag dito, rush commute? Could you describe it a bit? hours. I can consider myself as a commuter pag pupunta akong office: ‘Ito na naman—komyutan na naman ako.’ M: Ako kasi, yun nga, I can consider myself as a medyo paranoid [commuter] nga, and prepared. Well, kung baga, you can’t be too C: May nag-iiba ba sa yo? Nafe-feel mo bodily na, “Okay, prepared, right? So I don’t sleep when—when I take the bus. magkokomyut na ako!” or this or that? C: Even the P2P? M: Yes. Yeah. You—you become more aware of your surroundings. Sad to say, you hold your bag a little bit closer, M: Oo. I don’t. I don’t. Well, doon sa phone lang ako lagi. Phone you don’t pull out your phone. Yun. Kung baga you have to have lang, music, playing games… pero I can say na I feel more that particular mindset para siyempre hindi ka mapag-anuhan sa relaxed in the P2P as compared to other modes of transport labas. Di ba? kasi… the P2P kasi is more… parang I can say na localized yung market, na nandito lang e—itong mga tao lang na ‘to. So kung C: Are there things, or are there elements, rhythms that you baga, at a particular time schedule, yung mga mukhang yan, nakikita relate to commuting? So, for instance, yung isang interviewee ko, mo rin on a regular basis. So kung may nawalang gamit diyan, you sinabi niya, waiting. (M: Yeah.) So, for you, is there anything like just ask. Tapos yun. So—and I think mas, mas secure siya. that? C: Okay. Do you notice other people on the bus? I know—I M: Actually, kasi rhythm connotates a regular sound or a beat know—I think you answered this, but do you talk to them? or something, di ba? Commuting talaga for me—you can’t put it in that—sa akin lang, ah—context, kasi parang rhythm connotates M: No. something na ano, parang regular—something regular to make a rhythm, or to make a beat, or what. Dito wala talaga. Sabi ko, C: No one talks to each other, no? pag nag-uusap kami ng husband ko, “Ano na naman mangyayari sa akin?” It’s like—it’s like, ano, it’s like parang, kumukuha ka lang M: No. It’s like… well, kapag morning, it’s like people just want from a box, na you don’t know what you’re gonna expect the to catch up on their sleep. Kapag gabi rin, same. No one’s next. I can say na it took me thirty minutes to go to work, and talking. Parang elevator ride na, okay. [Ayan.] Ganoon. Unless of sometimes it will take you three to four hours. Yeah. Kaya in course you know each other, pero sasakalin ka ng iba kapag maingay terms of commuting, hindi ko siya maganoon…for me, ah. For me. kayo, di ba? Lalo na after a workday. Yeah.

C: Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. C: Okay.

M: Napaka-pessimistic ko regarding the public transport system 34:45 here. Sobra! Pero yun nga, it’s—it’s—kung baga, in hindsight, though, P2P, yung mga ganyan, it’s a bandaid solution. Sorry, C: Before I end this conversation, do you have anything else to sorry. It’s a bandaid solution, for, for—kung baga, it’s a private say, add? sector-initiated project, for, for ano, for something that the [public] sector should have ano, provided in the first place. M: Aja! Aja! Because—when you go to other countries, kung baga when you’re going [somewhere]—to a nearby district, you can check online. You can check online, okay, this is what I would take. These are the modes of transport I would take to come there. Ito, medyo segmented siya, kung baga—P2P’s very—kung baga, it serves its purpose, I can say. Pero yun nga, it’s not a regular thing. Kung baga, I think pwede siyang maging startup point for something more regular. Yeah, ganoon.

C: Even if there’s a—since you work for the public sector, off record lang ‘to—are there plans for the development of the bus system in the city? Wala? Pero may bagong MRT, di ba? May subway, bagong subway?

M: May subway. Ah—are you talking about yung sa South? Parang wala akong naririnig.

C: Alam ko mayroon sa may BGC ngayon.

- 5 - 18 JAN 2020 C: Ah, okay. Yung question ko that’s next, is related to that Transcribed Interview with Nicklaus Macatangay question beforehand. So how was that like, yung commute mo Venue: Starbucks, Molito before? 16:30 N: Nakakapagod siya sobra. Sa sobrang… sobrang hassle. Time- consuming. Grabe yung effort na ibibigay ko just for a lunch with C: For the purpose of this recording, what is your name? someone. Kasi I have friends from the North, so of course halfway na… sa Makati, so grabe yung ine-exert ko na effort just to N: I’m Nicklaus Macatangay. You can call me Nico. have lunch. Just one meeting lang. Yun lang.

C: Okay. And how old are you? C: That makes sense. Like, for instance kahapon, nag-BGC ako, kasi ime-meet ko yung friends ko from Quezon City. So yun yung N: Uhm, I’m nineteen years old. middle point namin kahapon. Tapos of course, kinonfirm pa namin beforehand, kasi ang daming effort noon for both parties, di ba? So, C: Okay. And your occupation? “Confirmed ba tayo tomorrow? Anong oras? Saan?” Tapos sure enough, out of five people, tatlo lang yung nag-turn up. So parang, N: Uhm, a student from Mapua University. Civil Engineering. sabi namin, “Sabi na ng aba e—hindi lahat pupunta!” Second year pala. N: Dahil sa—oo. C: Okay. I’ll keep this all private naman. I’ll most likely just name you as Nico. So, yeah. Because actually, I’m not profiling C: So, anyway, okay. Do you have any particular anecdotes or naman or anything. It’s more of the stories that you tell me [that memories from that time? Noong nagkokomyut ka? Pwedeng funny I’m interested in]. stories, special stories, scary stories…

N: Yeah. N: Ah, scary story, okay.

C: So where are you from? C: Pwede rin, kahit—

N: Uhm, I’m from Cavite. Pero parang borderline siya, near N: One time kasi, yeah… to Makati din ‘to. Dalawa kami ng Alabang na talaga. friend ko, from here. Pumunta kami sa Makati. Nag-jeep kami. Then, nung nasa jeep kami, may kasama kami sa jeep na nanakawan C: Ah, okay. And where do you live currently? siya. And we saw it. So ang… nakaka-trauma siya. Ang… ang scary nung feel. So parang… nakakatakot lalo mag-jeep. Nakakatakot N: Currently? Uhm, so nagdo-dorm ako ngayon sa Intramuros, magkomyut. So parang minsan, gusto namin sila na lang nagpupunta dito since doon ako nagstu-study. Pero every weekend[s], umuuwi ako sa Alabang, para di kami ma-hassle. Yun. Yung mga ganoong dito sa Cavite. experience. And yung, yung stress na… kapag… yung pagod lang talaga yung pinakanakaka-stress sa pagkomyut. C: Okay. So, before the P2P, how did you get around? How did you move around? C: Nowadays, how do you go to school?

N: Ah, yun. Sobrang hassle kasi siyempre I—from our village, I N: Since nagdo-dorm ako… ayun, I ride the e-trike sa loob ng take the van to ATC. Intramuros—may e-trike kasi doon. Pero kunwari—di ba, weekend umuuwi ako dito sa amin, so nagpi-P2P ako from dito to Lawton. C: Okay. Anong van, sorry? Then from Lawton, I walk na to Intramuros. Ayun.

N: Ah, ano siya—yung mga colored na vehicles, yung mga van C: Ah okay. How long does that take now? talaga, sa loob lang. N: Since… siguro mga one hour lang from—yun na yung fastest C: Ah, okay. from here to Lawton. Tapos di ba, yung P2P from—every hour siya or every thirty minutes yung pag-alis noong bus. So madaling N: Then ano, since—for example, pag pupunta ako sa Makati, mag-schedule since… kunwari seven, seven kailangan ko nang magje-jeep pa ako, then magbu-bus pa ako—yung sa bus na ang umalis ng Alabang, I have to leave the house by six-thirty lang, daming tao na magulo talaga. Ayun. So jeep, bus, van. Yun. then I’ll reach na. Then one hour lang yung travel time.

C: So, for example, sabihin natin, yung one day, anong oras ka C: So Mondays ka umaalis or… anong days ka umuuwi? gumigising? And how long does it usually take to reach your destination? N: Uh, usually Monday, para naka-P2P ako. Kasi pag Sunday, naka-normal ako na bus. N: Uhm, for example, in a day na may ime-meet ako somewhere, kunwari may ime-meet ako—and lunch—so I have to wake up by C: Ah, oo. Tapos pag-uwi mo, Friday? seven, then leave the house by eight, so… if we’re gonna— kunwari sa Makati, I have to leave Alabang by siguro nine, to N: Ah, I try na I leave Manila by Friday, kasi pag Saturday, like reach [Makati] before lunch, so I won’t be late for the meeting. today, walang P2P.

C: Ah, okay. Tapos in terms of yung P2P between Town Center tsaka Greenbelt, how often—ah, kailan ka pumupunta? - 1 - C: Nanibago ka ba? N: Uh, usually Friday ako pumupunta doon. So I take the P2P from Lawton—from Robinsons Manila to ATC, then I ride the N: Nanibago ako in a good way. Parang yun nga, since na-enjoy ko P2P from ATC to Greenbelt… to line [up] for my mom. Para na siya. Pero minsan may times na yung bus kasi, medyo masikip sa— lang hindi siya late makauwi, kasi pag Friday lalo daw, sobrang haba yung legroom, pero hindi na rin siya sobrang big deal since mas daw talaga ng pila. And minsan late siya nakakaalis ng office, so madali pa rin siya compared to riding the normal bus. pagdating niya, sobrang haba na ng line. Ayun. So usually ayun, once a week ako nagpi-P2P to Makati, to Greenbelt. C: Can you compare the first few times that you took the P2P to your experience now? So may nag-iba ba from the first few C: Ah, so frequent din pala yun. times, to nowadays…

N: Frequent pa rin—ah, yung first kasi I thought na sa post mo, N: So—so far, parang wala naman. Parang consistent naman yung ano, I thought you needed someone na parang everyday… experience ko. Consistent yung… consistent naman yung mga rides ko doon, parang lagi namang okay, comfortable siya lagi, yun. C: Ah, hindi, pero okay lang yun. Kasi for instance, may isa akong nakausap, kanya naman at least once or twice a month siya. Pero— C: Did you have any bad experiences na or not yet? kasi taga-Cavite din siya, pero nakatira na siya sa Makati. So he only does it once or twice a month pag umuuwi siya. But yeah, thank N: Siguro yung bad experience lang… you. Thank you for ano, responding. Uhm, why did you start taking it, the P2P? C: Or negative.

N: Uhm, it’s more convenient, easy. Uh, quite pricey, pero… N: Not so negative din naman, pero kunwari, uh… I arrive [at] the ano, okay siya kasi mas less hassle talaga. Less yung pagod and effort station by 7:05, and sobrang ano noon—kasi kunwari, one hour… na ine-exert mo for a day. one hour intervals yung pagdating noong bus, so ang tagal noong pagdating. Pero it’s my fault din naman, so it’s fine. C: How—how did it start—how did you start taking it? Did you hear [about] it from someone else? C: Okay lang yun. Uhm, okay, why do you take the P2P? This is nowadays, kasi my earlier question, why did you start taking the N: Uhm, since everyday—before, since dito ako sa Bene nag-aaral P2P? That was more because maybe narinig mo [about it], and before, noong nalaman namin na may P2P na diyan, since I always then you tried it, so now—so I’m asking, why do you take the go to ATC din, na—na—parang naging interested kami, kasi point P2P now? to point, walang stops in between the travel, ganyan… so parang, tinry namin siya agad nung… kailan ba yun, 2016? 2017? Yeah. Mga N: Why do I take the P2P now… ganoon. So tinry na lang namin din. C: Yeah, I mean, pwedeng simple lang, or pwedeng same reason. C: For the purpose of this recording, which routes do you take? Anong [route] usually na [tinatake mo]? N: Siguro, more—parang, same reason na halos, pero uh, kasi… feeling ko kasi nakaka-help din siya sa traffic ng Metro Manila kasi N: Na P2P? Ah, yung sa ATC to Lawton and Lawton to ATC. I know na yung normal buses causes traffic talaga kasi yung pagtigil ATC to Greenbelt. Yeah. Yung to Market Market, siguro ano nila kung saan-saan, compared sa pag-ride ko sa P2P na […] lang, pag may pupuntahan lang ako doon, pero sobrang bihira lang. kunwari I have to go to Green—ay, I have to go to uhm, SM Makati. Pero the bus stops at Greenbelt. And we all know that C: Do you remember the first few times that you took the P2P? the normal bus stop—ano, is, when you stop—when you go down from the normal bus, parang bababa—may place na N: Yeah. malalakaran ka to SM Makati na mas malapit. Pero mas pinipili ko yung pag—pag-ride ko sa P2P to Greenbelt kasi feeling ko talaga C: Could you talk about it? Tell me about it. less traffic—less ng cause ng traffic. So ano naman yung kaunting lakad lang naman yung effort? Kaysa marami namang maapektuhan sa N: Noong mga first rides ko sa P2P, wala, parang sobrang na-enjoy ko daan? siya kasi, ano eh, parang, nabawasan yung pagod ko sa pag-commute. Kasi yung commute ko talaga before, sobrang nakakapagod, since C: Ah, okay. ilang rides ba yun? One—van, jeep, bus—three rides din before. So ngayon parang two lang, so van and bus lang. Tapos yung mga N: Ayun. rides ko noon, parang… yung parang feeling mo hinahatid ka noong mom mo to school. Parang ganoon. Parang naka-private car ka lang C: Okay. Again, for the purpose of this recording, how often kasi, wala, parang sobrang walang hassle. Yun. do you take the P2P for… yung Lawton once a week yun, di ba?

C: Was it hard to get used to? Easy to get used to? N: Yeah. Parang… twice a week. Twice a week.

N: Easy to get used to, sobra. C: Twice a week kasi uwian. Tapos same for the Greenbelt?

C: Ah, okay. Do you have any memories that stand out? Say, N: Yung sa Greenbelt, parang balikan lang din. So, yeah. Ayun. for example, “Uy, hindi tight dito. Or, uy, parang aircon!” […] C: Okay. So it’s really just to line up for your mother? N: Sa P2P? Sa pag-ride noong P2P? Siguro yung mga…

- 2 - N: Just to line up for my mom. Or kapag kinikita ko lang siya, commuting for you as a person who lives in Manila? May ganoon. nagbago ba? May insights ka ba because you rode the P2P? Do you think you know Manila better? Do you think you know it a C: True, true. Okay. How do you think your day to day life has little less? changed? N: Uhm, I don’t see any difference sa transportation system sa N: Uhm, I have more time for the more important things. Manila… sa Manila Manila like [yung where I am], pero I think when P2P is more implemented around, I think it’d be better. C: Like—like what? Somehow kasi, yung nakita kong P2P pa lang sa Manila sa… near—uh, the capital Manila—yung near the City Hall, yung sa N: Like for reviewing. Kasi I—since I’m a student pa lang, so for area na yun, yung lang, yung dumadaan sa Lawton na P2P. Yung bus class. Less yung… less yung time na binibigay—ina-allot ko for na nandoon. Yun lang yung P2P. So parang, feeling ko mas okay if commuting so I can—if I’m reviewing and I have to stay up more P2P buses will be there. Ayun. late, I won’t… I don’t need to wake up earlier just to go to somewhere. I… less amount of time for commuting, and more C: Ah, okay, okay. time for studying. And yeah, ayun. N: Did I answer the question? Yung talaga. C: Ah, yeah, okay. C: Well, pwede rin. N: For errands. N: Can you repeat the question so I can…? C: What are some things you notice on the commute on the P2P? Like, do you notice anything about yourself? Or do you C: How has taking the P2P changed the ways in which you notice anything about other people riding the P2P? know Manila? In this case, not Manila as the municipality—

N: What do you mean? What kind of things, sorry? N: Like Manila—

C: So, for instance… I dunno, for example, nano-notice mo ba C: The city. Do you think you know it a little better? na maraming natutulog? Or… parang ganoon. Or do you notice anything that’s changed in you in terms of how you behave, N: Ah, like how I go around. kasi nasa bus ka na ‘to, versus sa labas, or whatever. C: Yeah. N: Ah, okay. So, what I noticed, pag nagbu-bus ako now, mas… yung feel ko, mas safe ako when riding it. Nakakatulog ako sa bus. N: Ah, okay. Hindi ako natatakot na baka manakawan ako or anything. And then kapag, yung sa P2P, di ba usually pag—yung P2P ko from C: I’m sorry. Greenbelt to ATC, gabi na yun. Ano na, uwian na. So napapansin ko yung iba, yung nakakatulog talaga sila sa bus, parang feel ko ang big N: I’m sorry. help talaga nung P2P sa kanila, kasi nakakapagpahinga sila after work. Unlike pag nasa normal sila na bus, mahihirapan sila kasi C: Hindi, okay. I’m sorry. minsan, standing bus, ayun. N: Ah so… now, mas familiar ako sa Manila, like sa Manila— C: Uh, ito, off-topic lang, pero since you ride the Lawton one, going to Makati, BGC… I’m not… yung takot ko in going tapos you also ride the Robinson—ah, same ba yun? around, sobrang parang wala na.

N: Uh, same lang siya. Ah, kasi from ATC, nagsto-stop siya sa C: Ah, okay. Lawton, then it goes back to Robinsons Manila. Pero pag from Robinsons to ATC, it doesn’t pass by Lawton na. N: Kasi when I—when… the first time I went to BGC, yung first time ko na ako lang mag-isa, noong una—noong before, noong C: Okay. So, okay. So, is it very different? I mean in terms of wala pang P2P, natatakot ako dahil siyempre, di ako familiar sa place. yung bus. Pero with the P2P, parang wala akong… di ako natatakot, mas confident ako na I can go home alive. N: Uhm, yung bus ng ATC to Greenbelt is better, I would say. Kasi yung bus ng ATC to Lawton, it’s quite similar to the normal C: Okay. Pero… yeah. Sige. bus lang. N: Yun nga, mas familiar na ako with it. C: Ah, okay, okay. C: Okay. How would you describe yourself as a commuter? So, N: Pero… comfortable pa din naman, so… okay lang. example. Mga interview ko, one person said, she’s a paranoid commuter. Another—another one said, prepared commuter C: Okay. Ah, teka lang ah. siya. Tapos yung isa naman, parang sabi niya, okay, I can’t call myself a commuter kasi hindi ako masyadong nagkokomyut. So in N: It’s okay. this case, kasi, commute—when you think of commuting in Manila, there’s a different connotation—“Ah, okay, hindi ka C: Okay. How has—in taking the P2P, do you think you know nagda-drive, basically”. Yun yun e. So, in your case, how would Manila a little better? Or may bago ka bang insights in terms of you describe yourself as a commuter? - 3 - C: In terms of someone who’s mobile. N: Ah, wait lang. Medyo mahirap ‘to. Paano ba, how would I describe myself… N: Since—ano siya, di ba, parang pattern of movement, siguro since tayong mga tao, mayroon tayong plans for a day, parang—hindi C: You don’t have to think of it very seriously. Pwedeng, I naman plans—parang, mayroon tayong pattern na din minsan sa dunno, first word that comes into your head. Laid back ka ba? everyday life natin, parang ako, I… laging planado… pina-plan ko You don’t really think much of it? before—sa night, pina-plan ko yung day ko the following day, so parang medyo similar lang siya lagi, na kunwari I… I wake up, I take N: Uh… I don’t… wait lang. Sorry. a bath, go to school, go to the gym, ganyan. So parang—siguro I’d say na parang ganoon. Parang sa everyday life ng tao, may rhythm. C: Go lang. Take your time. C: Okay. So again, my next question is related to that. Does N: Ako… paano ba ako… riding the P2P, the bus, mark any kind of rhythm for you? So for example, pag tapak mo sa bus, sa P2P, or pag-alis mo sa P2P, C: Take your time. biglang parang may shift ka na? Yung parang, “Ah, okay, ngayon, ano na ako—I need to be more careful, kasi maglalakad ako. Or N: Siguro… baka kasi hindi rin ako ganoon ka-prepared din e when I papunta na akong work once I ride the P2P.” Parang may… maybe commute. Parang when I… I just leave the house and go. Bahala not noticeable outward change, pero does something shift? na kung paano. N: Yeah. Parang ganoon. Parang ganoon yung nangyayari. Pagbaba ko C: Okay lang kahit anong word. ng bus, I need to be alert na kasi I’m outside the bus. I—I’m not in a safe place anymore. Kasi I—di ba I told you earlier na P2P N: Wait lang, sorry. is like, sobrang safe for me. Sobrang comfortable niya. Ganyan. So pagbaba ko ng bus, parang—siyempre iba na yung mindset ko. Ang C: No, no, go lang. We can come back to it, if you want. plan ko na is I have to… kunwari may pupuntahan akong place, I have to go to that place na. Then since I always use the P2P N: O sige. Later na lang. Di ako bigla sure, paano nga ba ako mag- nga to line up for my mom din, so before five, I—kailangan ko commute? At paano ba ako mag-act? nang makabalik sa line. Parang ganoon…

C: First time ba ever na may nagtanong? C: Okay, okay. Hindi, that’s good, kasi for instance, sa isang ano ko, interviewee, example naman niya was biglang mag-aayos na siya N: Ah, yeah. Oo. ng damit niya. Pagbaba niya, parang, “Okay, now I’m off to work”, parang ganoon. Yung isa naman, “hahawakan ko na yung bag ko”—mas C: O di ba, parang reflection [siya]. ano—

N: Oo. N: Oo, mas—

C: […] Ito naman, medyo theoretical siya, I think, kasi yung C: Ganoon. Okay. question ko is about rhythm. The word rhythm. N: So parang similar lang din naman. Ganoon. Mas alert na ako sa… N: Okay. C: Okay. My next question is again for you to relate certain C: So when you think of rhythm, in terms of someone who’s words to certain concepts. So this one is: what words do you able to move around and be mobile, what do you think of? relate to commuting? What do you relate to it, if you were to define rhythm? So, to help you, the first interview I had, yung in-interview ko, sinabi N: Commuting… Traff—heavy traffic siguro, or— niya, yung first word was about music. Kasi musically inclined siya. So sabi ko, sige, that’s fair. That’s fine. But then—yun nga, C: And why is that? sabi ko, please elaborate more and maybe connect it to being able to move. So yung sabi niya, rhythm when she think of it is N: Wala e, parang yun na yung naging ano pag dito sa Manila, na pag when she’s in sync with other people. So that for her is what commute, nakakapagod, and sobrang traffic, parang ganoon. Time- makes up rhythm. So for you, in the same—in the same consuming, siguro, I’d say din. manner, it doesn’t have to be the same, though— C: Okay, and what words do you relate to the commuter? N: Yeah. I see. Oo. Of course. For me, rhythm—di ba pattern ng movement—parang ganoon, di ba? Pattern— N: Commuter…

C: Mayroon akong interviewee—I think dance naman yung kanya. C: Iba ‘to sa earlier question ko. So kwento niya dati, since late—sa events siya, yun yung work niya—sa P2P, parang more than once na siya sumayaw sa P2P. N: Yeah. Ganoon. Ang gulu-gulo niya. So, for her, kung yung isa music, yung isa dance. C: When you think of commuter, what do you think of?

N: Kinonek lang niya doon sa isa. Siguro for me—someone being N: Siguro just like kanina, someone na hindi nagdadala ng personal, able to move ba? Parang ganoon? private car niya. Siguro sa akin nga e, kahit yung Grab, I’d say commute pa din yun e, kasi, yeah, it’s more convenient pero - 4 - commute pa din siya kasi para siyang public transpo lang din. C: So, relating that to the P2P, when you ride the P2P, ganoon Parang taxi lang din siya talaga. ka rin ba?

C: So, at this point, can I go back to my— N: When I go to the P2P? When I go to the P2P—

N: Yeah, yung question mo kanina. C: Nag-iiba ba yung body language mo?

C: —question. So how would you describe yourself as a N: No. Parang hindi nag-iiba yung body language ko. Kung ano ako, commuter? Would you call yourself a commuter? usually, ganoon lang talaga. Kasi hindi naman ako talaga yung, as in confident person na I can… wala. Parang… I am myself. N: I—I’d call myself a commuter, kahit madalas akong nagga- Whoa—I am myself! Parang sobrang reflective. Grab, kasi for me commute talaga yun. Sig—I forgot. I have an answer na kanina. Wait lang. C: Kaya ako nag-eenjoy sa interviews ko e.

C: Go lang. Positive ba, negative, neutral? N: Oo. […] Pag nagpi-P2P, parang wala, I don’t need to do anything. I just ride the bus and go down and go to the [place]. N: Wait. Oh, my God… C: Okay, this again might be a confusing question. C: Go lang. Take your time. Okay lang. Hindi ‘to test question. N: Okay. N: I know, pero… C: When are you a commuter? For example, in the middle of C: Walang right or wrong answer. the day, or throughout one cycle in a day. When are you a commuter and when are you not a commuter? Can you N: Ano nga ba… identify those times or periods within a day, na parang, “ah, okay, ngayon, nagkokomyut talaga ako. Therefore commuter ako.” Pero C: For instance, would you call yourself a lazy commuter? [Or mamaya, biglang na-notice mo, “Ah, studyante na naman ako.” Alam parang talagang strong—hindi naman strong, pero… di ba minsan, mo yun? Parang… Can you identify parts of the day? may nagsasabi, “tamad akong magkomyut”, parang ganoon. Kaya laging, say for example, “Grab na lang ako lagi.” Dati Uber, parang N: Parts of the day na masasabi kong commuter ako at hindi ako ganoon, for instance. commuter? I… siguro I’d always call myself a commuter naman. Pero sinasabi ko lang na hindi kunwari kapag, susunduin ako ng mom N: Siguro ano, pretentious… I’d say, kasi—pag nagkokomyut ako, I’d [ko] by car, ganyan. Ganoon lang. Parang… Pero… almost everyday pretend na I know everything, I know how to go to this place. commuter naman ako kasi wala naman akong private car. I always Kasi… I think na when people see me na halatang hindi ako ride public transportation. Ayun. marunong, […] they’ll take advantage of me, parang ganoon, na pwede akong manakawan. So I pretend na I know where this place C: Okay. Are there things, elements or rhythms that you relate [is], I walk confident[ly]… yeah. to the activity of commuting? So, example, yung isang interviewee ko, sinabi niya waiting. C: Oo. That makes sense. Parang di mo na kailangan i-check kung saan ka. N: Okay.

N: Oo. So parang prepared na din pala, kasi before—before I go, C: So, yun yung ni-relate niya as an activity when it comes to I check din kung saan ako sasakay. So parang ganoon na rin. commuting. For you what would that be?

C: Can I ask you, following up on what you said… N: Activity that I can relate to commuting?

N: Yeah? C: Or rhythm, pattern, or things? Pwedeng object. Pwedeng… for example, Beep card. Or… mga ganoon. C: Yung parang you pretend di ba, so how do you show that […]? N: Wait… ano nga ba. Parang ang nice na noong waiting, pero gusto N: Yeah, aside from walking confident, I don’t—kasi I—ano, I ko magbigay ng [ibang] answer. think it helps, I think ha, uh… I don’t put my bag in front, like how usual commuters do. I put it in the back. Pero I put my C: Go, be creative. valuables in my pocket na lang para I… I can feel it na it’s, it’s with me. Ganyan. N: Kasi actually nga, tama. Tama. Ang nice noong answer niya, yung waiting ah. Kasi parang sa lahat ng situation nagwa-wait—I C: Pero why is that? Ano yung difference sa having it on your wait for my prof, I wait for the—I wait in line to go buy food sa back? Just for you to elaborate? canteen, mga ganoon. True. Pwede ba?

N: ‘cause… uhm, wala, parang feeling ko it—as long as I look C: Pwede mong ulitin. Pero pwede kang mag-add. confident na I—I know how to commute and I know how to go to this place, I think na I’m safer. And people […] won’t take N: Ano pa ba… O sige, I’ll elaborate na lang sa waiting kasi parang, advantage of me and what I have. Yun. Para lang safe. okay na nga siya. Sa rhythm di ba—ay, wait, sorry. […] Kasi nga di ba kanina sinabi ko sa rhythm para siyang… ma-relate ko siya sa parang pattern ng daily life ng tao. So parang sa… yung waiting sa - 5 - pagkokomyut, kung kunwari ma-rerelate ko siya sa situations sa C: I dunno. Like… parang people watching. Mga ganoon. Kasi everyday, parang nagugulo kasi yung plan and yung pattern mo in a yung isang kausap ko dati, sabi niya parang, nope, I don’t notice day sa pagwa-wait mo. Parang… ako kasi I plan every hour. anyone on the bus. As in sabi niya, parang nasa phone lang ako all Kunwari, from one to two—one to three thirty, ganyan, I have a the time. Parang ganoon. class. Pero mga four—ay, three thirty to four, I have—I have to go to the gym na. Ganyan. And kunwari, three thirty to four, N: Siguro, parang hindi din. Parang hindi ko sila pinapansin. Ako lang. sobrang traffic, and I wait, or—I have—someone talks to me Ako lang. for so—for so long, along the way—so parang magugulo yung plan ko for the day. Magugulo yung rhythm… parang ganoon. […]

C: Nastre-stress ka ba kung nagugulo yung rhythm mo? C: So I guess because I’m more aware, I notice other people. For instance, tama ka—ang daming natutulog sa bus. Especially N: Sobra. Kaya kanina nung sa bus, na-stress ako kasi parang… yung going home time? Lahat yan, tulog. planado ko na e. Three thirty I have to be there, interview na. Ganyan. Buti na lang wala ako gagawin later. Kasi pag-uwi ko na lang. N: Halos tulog, tahimik yung bus. Doon mo lang madidinig yung TV sa Tomorrow na ulit yung plan ko for things I need to do. Ayun. bus.

C: Okay. Pero otherwise mastre-stress ka talaga kung— C: Parang naninibago ako. Parang wow, okay. Ang tahimik ah. Parang nagiging mas aware ka. Okay. So for you, you don’t notice N: Pag nagugulo yung plans. anything […]

C: Okay. So in relation to this, so—today, nagkokomyut ka, ikaw N: Parang wala naman. Aside from people sleeping, wala naman. yung type na hindi ka relaxed? C: Okay. Okay. Uh, what about the space in the bus? Like… N: Hin—I’d say hindi nga. Hindi. Siguro relaxed ako if kita ko I’d naa-appreciate mo ba minsan na […] usually laging on yung aircon, reach, ano, I’d reach there in time. Pero pag alam kong hindi, like or kung gusto mong matulog or inaantok ka, nagdi-dim yung lights? kunwari—ten minutes, ano—before ako dadating doon, parang feel Mga ganoon. ko ang tagal na din noong ten minutes na yun. When I plan to be there an hour before, pero ten minutes before the time, that N: Ano, if I notice anything? Oo, yun, nao-observe ko yun, pag time ako dumating, parang nakaka-stress na din. Kasi sayang din yung night, while on the way, di ba dini-dim nila yung lights, tsaka time e. yung… naa-appreciate ko yung kapag wala nang standing. Kasi sa normal bus, may mga nagsta-standing talaga. And minsan nang- C: Okay, okay. What do you do during the ride on the bus? Sa aasar lang kasi, nakaupo kang ganyan, tulog ka, then may tao diyan sa P2P? harapan. Like, okay? Ayun, yung mga simpleng ganoon na walang nakatayo, nakaupo lahat, ganyan. N: P2P… It’s either I’d sleep, uh… I’d watch videos, Netflix… ganyan. Sleep or watch videos lang. C: [on media participation, etc.]

C: Hindi ka nanonood noong sa—

N: Ah, yung sa TV? Ang layo e. Hindi ko din nadidinig minsan. Nasa likod ako minsan ng bus e. Or kunwari, I have requirements to do. Like sa P2P—kasi sa school namin ang dami nang online works na I need to submit. So minsan, ang submissions, kunwari seven pm. Nasa bus pa ako ng six to seven. Mga six thirty to eight, let’s say nasa bus pa ako. Sa P2P nakakapaggawa ako ng schoolworks. Nakakalabas ako ng laptop. So parang—so parang, ibang help talaga yung P2P sa akin. Kasi if nasa normal bus ako, di ako makakalabas ng laptop. Nakakahiya—first nakakahiya, masikip and sobrang delikado.

C: Okay. Di ba may Wifi sa ibang P2P?

N: Yeah, mayroon naman. Pero—

C: Gumagana ba? Alam ko—

N: Hindi—hindi ko pa siya nata-try. Pero since kasi pag nagwi-Wifi ako, pag yun nga, may gagawin na requirement, mas nagre-rely na lang ako sa data. Kasi ayoko i-risk na di ko masubmit, for example, ganoon.

C: Okay. Okay. Do you notice other people on the bus?

N: What do you mean? Like parang…

- 6 - 21 JAN 2020 masters. So… I mean, as much as I am familiar with the Transcribed Interview with Andro Umali P2P and stuff, I don’t do it everyday, obviously. And I Venue: Bluesmith Coffee and Kitchen, Greenbelt 3 haven’t seen anyone biking, like biking, in EDSA, like 13:00 biking it and bringing it to— on the bus…

A: Yeah. Most bike commuters kasi here—the A: …But emergency medicine kasi, in terms of… it’s not demographics, if you look at it, more on sa middle to low your typical doctoring, basically. Emergency medicine is income, a little bit of the high ones… pero yun nga, I the specialty heavily involved also in public health. mean, people who have access to folding bikes kasi, we use bimodal commuting. So yun, basically what I did— C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. the test that I did na longest was from Pasig, I biked to Shaw. Shaw, MRT. Ayala, baba. Bike a bit. Go to the P2P A: More importantly, road safety… and of course, we get station, fold it. Baba sa Alabang and then bike to Festival, kasi the victims. Then of course we do also a bit… we to Decathlon. So like in Europe, the essence of the folding dabble a bit with… on urban planning stuff, because yung bike kasi, it’s the last mile concept, di ba? So like, getting road safety… uh, in terms of building safety, building there and going to the next destination. And surprisingly, codes, patient extrication, stuff like that. And disaster the P2Ps are actually okay with that. Kasi the problem management kasi yung parang a branch of emergency with, in my opinion, the problem when you hit Alabang is medicine that really delves upon that, which intersects you suddenly drop in access to a convenient way of going with what you do. That’s on a professional level, so… around. I mean, like for example, if you go here, you have basically. But it… on a personal level kasi uh, so as a Grab, or you have like, jeep lines you’re familiar with, commuter, I shifted from being a car driver to a or— commuter around three years ago. Because mostly as how […]—turning point naman talaga yun e. For everybody C: MRT— kasi it’s really just the really—the bad traffic in Manila. So basically, from a car driver, I started by commuting. So A: —you have the MRT, pero once you go to Alabang, the that’s where I started off. Yun talaga yung ano ko… so transport hubs like… it becomes more… more or less because my work place is like two, three kilometers lang, informal. Kasi the jeep—the jeepney lines and the ano are bikeable. But [I] expanded that to using trains and the weird. And they cover Muntinlupa, di ba? They don’t go P2P. So in particular to P2P, what I would use would be particular—for example, how are you gonna go to… let’s the Glorietta-Alabang line, the Galleria to Glorietta line say, uh, Ayala Alabang Village, di ba? Di ba? That’s why and then the UP Town to Glorietta line. So basically, QC- the bicycle for me… kaya nagbi-bike ako, kasi what if I go Makati, Makati-Pasig, Makati… so parang Makati is like to, for example, Country Club, Molito, or wherever? So my central… yun, that’s why the bicycle… that’s why I use the bicycle to do that. C: Central point. C: Ah, okay. That’s very interesting. Do you mind if I start A: …Yeah, central point. I don’t… I’m not familiar so with my questions and then we can divert elsewhere – we much with the Market Market – Alabang, but I have… I don’t have to go through it… but for the purpose of this have a friend who uses that, kasi parang they… the hub recording, can you give me your name? And your age? that they use is C5/Market Market. Ako, I use the EDSA… So yun, that’s how I… I would use it. So yun. Basically, A: I’m Andro. I’m Andro Umali. I’m thirty years old. since I shifted to commuting, I don’t drive a car. I ditched it. So if I need to carry stuff, I borrow my brother’s car, C: Okay. And what do you do? ganoon. But primarily for long distance. That’s where the fusion of mass transit and bike commuting comes in, A: I’m a doctor, an emergency medicine, uh, resident. which… what we call cycling commuters as bimodal commuting. If you’ve been to Singapore, or Japan… or C: Okay. And where are you from? even Europe, they would bring their bicycles, use mass transportation, bring it down… The test that I was able to A: Right now, I’m based in BGC. I work in Pasig. do with P2P—P2P has been very successful in terms of bimodal [transport] because parang very accept—okay C: Uhm, yeah, that was actually my second – my next lang sa kanila yung folding bikes, ‘no? Just like a big question is where do you live currently? So you live, you cargo. said that you lived in Commonwealth?

C: That’s surpris—I’m actually surprised, mostly because A: Yeah. it’s the first time I heard [about it]. To be perfectly frank, I haven’t actually been based in Manila for the eight C: Ah, you’re from Commonwealth? years, so for the six years that I was working, I was in Singapore. And then umuwi ako to do—well, you know, A: Yeah, now I live in BGC. to rest a bit, and then I headed off again to do my - 1 - C: Yeah, okay. So can you tell me a little bit about people who post there actually, uhm, also… people from yourself as a commuter? Like how did you get into AltMobility, uhm, a lot of them dabble into what we call, biking? You already talked about it a bit, but then how uhm, what people call micro-mobility or alternative and why did you get into it, biking? Like the specifics of mobility. So if in the context of the bike commuter, the it… bike commuter has always been there for a long time, ‘no? You would see mga karpinteros, mga tinderos, yung A: Ah, okay. mga nagbabalut, et cetera—the bicycle is their primary mode of transportation. Uhm, of course they go unnoticed C: …and then using bimodal transport and then because… parang, that segment of the population, when eventually dropping the car use… you ask them, most of them would bike to work because of necessity—to save fuel, to, to save pamasahe, stuff like A: So, it started off when I was a, uh, I’ve been curious that. But of course, there has been a growing number of about it for some time and there’s a growing frustration middle class to upper class cyclists or—well, I’ll focus on during the 2015, 2016 period wherein traffic uh, is cyclists muna kasi… getting worse, parking rates are getting higher… and then it’s—for me it was absurd that my workplace was around C: Yeah, yeah, sure. 2-3 kilometres away from where I lived. So I dabbled into bike commuting because it’s the most accessible one, and A: Of course, there’s EK—yung electric kick scooter you know, it’s—I don’t want to buy a motorcycle, and people, stuff like that—but in particular, cyclists, because, then at the same time uhm, you know, as a form of uhm, it’s been seen as a uhm… more and more people extracurricular activity. But eventually it got—because I have the same turning point—I mean, not the same, but was able to save a lot of time, cutting my commute from similar turning points in their lives. Some of them are an hour to around fifteen minutes, significantly, and then actually cyclists na, sports cyclists, then they transition to saved me money on gas, parking… so I stuck with it. bike commuting… some of them are jeep commuters or Then I applied it to my other… uhm, I applied it to my UV Express na napagod na sa traffic and sa ano. So yun, other trips like, uhm, I shifted—that’s when, that was the and then uhm, slowly we’re increasing in numbers. We impetus of where I shifted my mindset [from] being a have a Facebook page called Bike to Work Pilipinas, then driver/car owner, to a commuter using mass if you check out MNL Moves in Facebook… dumadami na transportation and alternative transportation. So… so kami. It’s been a quiet set of people, but then we’re that started years ago. Ever since, I would take MRT, the pushing forward kasi like ah, it’s really been a benefit for LRT, and the P2P. Uh… I rarely take the jeep or the ano, us bike commuters in terms of… din. the FX, or the UV Express. Kasi if it’s—it’s UV Express- able, I’d rather bike it. Kasi for me, uhm, P2P and MRT C: In terms of say, bike friendly… friendliness, how make sense, because it covers a lot of distance for a would you gauge the situation of Manila? shorter period of time. But if you’re gonna be in like, uh… ano, uh, motor—ay, motorcycle, sorry, in a UV Express or A: Okay. So, Manila is not… well, for a lack of a better a jeep, the—parang I’d rather ride a bike. So… But of term, a bit hostile in terms of bike commuting, as a course, especially, cycling in Manila is not really a cup of whole, ‘no? Because infrastructure is not there… But tea, so, so to speak. So I was able to switch to—ah, more importantly, it’s not just the infrastructure. It’s more alternatively biking all the way, which is what we call— of the recognition that a bike commuter is a human being, what we traditionally—do it like, bike from point A to ‘no? In general, commuters in the Philippines are sub- point B, or what you call bimodal commuting. So human […], because they are subjected to… well, if combining mass transportation with cycling. So either you’ve listened to the technical working group meeting in through a folding bike or I park my bike—for example… Senate yesterday, James Deakin mentioned like, the best example is, uh, there was a time wherein I biked transportation situation in the Philippines has a health from my place to Galleria, locked my bike there, took the crisis. It’s suffering the commuter, ‘no? So when, before, P2P from Galleria to Makati, then Makati to Alabang. during the prime of the mga de kotse, ‘no, a commuter is Then back. So parang, balik lang. So from Alabang, always looked down upon, parang, “Ah, wala kang kotse? Makati, Galleria—ay, Makati to Galleria, get my bike, so Nagkokomyut ka lang?” Much more so the bike parang ganoon. So that’s how I integrate the… in commuter, because the bike commuter is, una, the bicycle particular, those mass transportation systems into me is a cheap way of getting around. So it’s associated with being a bike commuter. the poor people, ‘no? But regardless, of, well, based on my—our discussions here in our bike groups, ‘no, C: Okay. And then you said previously that actually regardless of social class, minamaliit talaga yung mga bike there’s like a… relatively… not big, but then a significant commuters, in terms of a sociocultural perspective. For number of bikers in Manila, di ba? Can you tell me a little example, pagnaka… ako, personally, doon sa work ko bit about that? It’s very interesting. before, when they—they noticed I started bike commuting, they would—the guards will ano, will scan A: Ah, okay, sure, sure. So… Parang I saw your post on me. Alam mo yun? How guards do profiling? So for “How’s your biyahe, ‘bes?” But a lot of it like, si Rob Sy, example, kung pumasok ako de kotse, naka-blazer na Aldrin Pelicano from MNL Moves, Ira Cruz, Jedd Ugay, agad, wala, palalampasin ka. Pero pag naka-bike

- 2 - commuter outfit pa, dala-dala pa yung mga gamit, kasi A: Well, it’s… uhm, as long as you… well, my commuting nakita nila yung helmet, parang, tatanungin nila, “Sir, kasi takes uh, not—it’s not just about—it’s not just biking. saan kayo papunta?” So napro-profile ka. It’s unavoidable, It’s about… I mean, not as a skill lang. But as a because they look down on you. In terms of infrastructure commuter, you have to use it… it’s a new… brand new naman, we do lack safe bike ways—I mean, protected skills. Of course, you protect yourself. We have bike bike lanes, ‘no. In terms of whatever the standard is, or lights—we have front lights, rear lights. Then we have whatever we see abroad, ‘no. The few ci—places that various types of safety gears. So at night the problem is… have bike lanes are Pasig, as an example, although the uhm, we—a lot of bike commuters who are—what I know network—when you go to the page of MNL Moves by of, actually have morning and night routes. So the night Aldrin Pelicano, there was a time that they rode all the… routes tend to be longer, tend to focus on well-lit streets, the segments of the bike routes and it was incomplete— safer areas, di ba. Some also… like uh, I know someone butas-butas. Tagpi-tagpi, ‘no. Some of them have bollards, who… who takes a bike in the morning then folds it up, some of them are just painted lanes. Ganoon. Same in QC, and then uses Grab or mass transportation at night. Para ‘no. QC also, may bike lanes sila doon, pero not protected, tip—parang kunwari, late na siya uuwi, mga eleven, or, or the design is really bad, kasi sometimes pinaparkan ganoon. But of course there are people who really just yan ng mga kotse. Stuff like that. Same with Marikina. bike. Wala silang pakialam kung anong time of day. Rain Pero of course, there are city ordinances that actually is another problem. Rain and weather. But so… that’s promote cycling, but in terms of, like, solid infrastructure, why… the beauty of bike commuting is you can be as parang wala. So, yun… And then bike racks, also. ‘No, not flexible as you can be, or you could be as hardcore as you a lot of places have bike racks, ‘no. Uhm, Makati… want. Ako, personally, I would bike regardless of the Makati, medyo madami. BGC, sakto lang. Pasig, oo. Pero weather, […] unless it’s really super bad. I have rain gear, QC, wala. Very, very madalang. Or in… Even in other I have rain boots. I have a change of clothes every time places like San Juan, Pateros, Taguig and other places… with me and stuff to shower. Para makakapag-shower yun. So yun. In terms—that’s in terms of sociocultural ako. Or let’s say for example, yun nga, like, sobrang pangit [perspectives] and infrastructure. talaga, then bimodal. You can always do bimodal. Like pag umuulan, take a Grab, take the train, or take the P2P. C: Okay. You answered this already, pero for the purpose Fold your bike and then you’re done – […] parang you of this recording, how do you go to work now? won’t get wet. So yun. I mean, weather is like what people used to mention as a barrier, but actually it isn’t. A: Okay. Ah, so my primary way of getting around But yun, I mean, not really a big barrier. It’s a challenge, Manila, if it’s within uh, let’s say, sabihin mo mga ten? but yun, it’s there. So yun. Fifteen kilometers, pero by bike, ‘no… But I usually need to extend my commute or I know that I have to do C: When did you start taking the P2P? multiple stops in a day, I take usually a combination of the bike and mass transportation, ‘no. So if… for example, A: Say, around 2016 din— my usual routine is I wake up in the morning, prepare my bike and myself. I found a way to, to pack all my stuff in C: Ah, when it started. my bike—like I have a messenger bag, and then I have like, my bike—I transformed it into a commuter A: Same time, same time when it started, ‘no. It—it talaga, ’no, designed for commuting. With racks, and […] complemented what I was doing already. And I was bags, everything that I need, ‘no, locks and stuff like that. amazed that—I treat it like a portal because I don’t drive. So that’s my primary take bike. But I can also do a folding I hate driving and I hate that stress, so… and at the same bike. But basically, so—primarily, bike to work, ‘no. I time, the concept of mass transportation is like, appealing mean… Like, I don’t—wherever work is, like if it’s either to me, because, you know, it’s like ditching individual in Pasig, or right now, if I’m stationed in Makati, ‘no, it’s cars, putting people in buses… there’s this… I’m pretty all about cycling. But if I need to do harder places, or like, sure you’ve seen it—yung multiple pictures in either in for example, I need to go to Manila suddenly, ‘no, and France or in England, I don’t know—yung parang how then, I have to—to be more… like, less sweaty, or need to many people can fit in a street, like how many cars, how do multiple stops that I don’t think uh, it will be many bikes, and like, how many buses of the same disproportionate to my cycling effort, I take the folding number of people, right? So ganoon, noong nakita ko yun, bike, train, then go to Manila. Or like, if I go back—I have that’s why I started being a user of the P2P. Ano na, it’s to go back to QC nowadays—I take the P2P. So, bike to the best—the best for me is it’s an alternative to the MRT. P2P, then P2P with my bike, and then either meet up with Especially when the MRT was breaking down a lot. The my family, because they’re still based there, QC, ‘no. Or Galleria to Makati route was like, godsent kasi it helped— somebody fetches me in a car, then I take my bike, and gave me access to Alabang. Eh kung wala yung route na then… Stuff like that. There. yun, tapos parang ayokong mag-bike, ibi-bike ko pa yun all the way to the–either Market Market or Alabang, di ba? C: Now that I think about it, since you bike a lot, is it a Wala akong access. problem at night? C: How did you hear about it?

- 3 - A: Ah, ano… the… how did I hear about it? Social media. It’s—it’s […]—it’s a private entity use spearheaded it Basically Facebook…[…] and then of course I have— I’m although with the approval of the government, but sinabi not yet part of, parang, any transport or commuter blah- ko pwede pala. Hindi—of course, it was very comfortable. blah-blah Facebook page yet, pero kasi I’ve heard about it The comfort, the types of buses that they use are brand kasi, as a folding bike commuter, hindi natuwa yung mga new. I mean, not just brand new na bago ah, the design. folding bikers. Kasi the concept was, way, way before the Iba… may pinagyayabang yung DNS na low floor bus, yung MRT started around 2000+, ah, in 2007, a certain group mga ganoon. Or yung seats nila, really made for urban told me, called Tiklop Society in the Philippines— commuting, like comfortable, easy to get out of. Hindi basically a folding bike—advocated for ah, the MRT to yung mga buses natin na provincial bus, o kaya yung mga accept the bike on board. So noong may P2P, nalaman ng colorum na ano lang, bangko lang, ‘no. So yun yung sabi mga tao, naisip namin baka pwede rin. And partly, pwede ko, and of course kahit na aircon siya, yung […] niya, rin, na isakay yung bus, ‘no. So that’s mostly about social pwede na. And uh—before, ngayon medyo may congestion media din. People who also are into commuting, doon ko na, pero when it was still pretty new, on time talaga siya. nalaman. Yung on time talaga, or at least predictable yung time. MRT nga hindi predictable yung time e, ito least more or C: Ah, okay. Again, you may have answered this already, less predictable yung time […]. but again, I’ll just ask it. Why did you start taking it? C: […] Ideally ba how frequent yung MRT? A: Ah, so. So, uhm, I’ve, have—fine, di kasi ako nagpepersonal—pero I’ve had transactions. There are times A: Ako? that I need to go to, to Alabang, or like I mentioned, places that have to take me farther, uhm, more than my C: Hindi, per train. How—how frequent are the trains? usual bike commute. So that’s why I started taking it. Also Usually, supposedly? there are times na I take it because it’s more comfortable. It’s a, uh, it’s relatively… the price of the trip is uhm, A: Unpredict—hindi, dapat kasi may ano yan e, may acceptable. Hindi siya exuberantly expensive, ‘no. And I’d scheduling yan e, every three, every five minutes, ganoon, rather take that rather than a cab […]. if you’re gonna be [meeting] international standards. Pero sa atin… barely… makes the… C: For the purpose of this recording, which route do you take? C: Kasi matagal na ako hindi nag-MRT. Parang college pa ata. A: So uhm… A: Yung college… if college pa, that was like, still C: Or which routes? efficient. Eh now […] not as much.

A: Okay, so I probably take the… […] Makati is my hub, C: Can you compare it to your experience now? As in, so I would take the Makati to Alabang; Glorietta to comparing the first few times that you took it versus how Alabang, or Glorietta to Galleria. Then there’s also the you take it nowadays? Is there any difference, can you Glorietta to UP Town. But I’ve tried others, like the Clark talk about it a bit? to Ortigas. I tried it also. A: Well, of course, siyempre, ang dami nang gumagamit. C: Ah talaga? Ang dami nang gumagamit. So ridership has increased, which is a good thing. But siyempre the consequence to A: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I tried it. that, mas yung type of service, minsan iba na kasi hindi na siya maka-keep up eh. Coupled with the fact that it’s still C: Do you remember the first few times that you took it? a road user, regardless of the type of transport. It still Do you have any particular—can you talk about it a bit? uses—it still doesn’t have its—it’s not like a Bus Rapid System, ‘no. It doesn’t have its own lane. So—and A: It was awesome. Parang sabi ko, pwede pala ‘to sa although inaayos na nila—they’re trying to fix the bus Pilipinas. Yun yung parang… I—I learned how to ride the lanes in EDSA, dahil malala yung motor, ano yun, yung bus. I mean, the bus ha. As in like, the transport—the, motorist… yung gas fuel uh, traffic—[when] we say cars, the, the typical buses that we have out of necessity, trucks, buses—affected din yung service niya. But in terms because I had to learn it, because if ever you get stranded, of the quality, the ano, the… the, the comfort, nandoon or during the times when Manila was—had frequent pa din naman. Pero siyempre, yun nga lang, yung ibang floods, ‘no—buses are your friends, ‘no. But for me the lines nacu-cut, yung ibang lines nai-increase ng ridership. bus was disorganized, weird… you have to master the For example, yung sa Galleria, nag-iba na pala sila. Hindi stops. Where it’s going. Iba-iba yung routes. Walang route na sila every hour. Every one and a half hours na sila. So, plan. Ganoon. But the P2P, you know where it’s gonna I didn’t know. And mahirap maghanap ng consolidated start, you know where it’s gonna end. So yun, that’s the schedule. Di ba? As in parang yung, “Check mo, o eto na first thing that really was, I was saying posible palang ba yung latest from the information?” And even the magkaroon ng organized bus transport sa Philippines, ‘no. webpages that try to consolidate the information are

- 4 - outdated. So wala kang active na malalaman na, ‘O, eto stuff like that. Yun. I only do it on weekends. I don’t drive na yung bus schedule for this week.’ Ganyan. The… my on weekdays. I hate—I hate driving, basically. most [recent one] was in Clark… kasi I had a conference in Clark. So I, we had a car going there. Car going, pero C: Pero you still have your license? Ah, well, obviously— going back we took the P2P. So nung tawag namin noon, you still have your license. Yeah, yeah, yeah. it was during the Southeast Asian Games, nag-iba ng terminal yung P2P, sa Clark New City pa yun. So hindi A: Ah, yeah. Oo naman. namin sure kung yung lahat ng providers doon, or like, is it Genesis lang or is it DNS, Genesis, everybody? Or wala. C: On the commute, whenever you’re on the bus, do you So… I took the… I went to the airport. Buti na lang ever notice anything? Like, kahit the small things, funny meron sa airport na Manila—Clark to NAIA, which stops things, I dunno. Is there anything noticeable on your at Ortigas. Mga ganoon. So I—it’s really yung… yung commutes that you take note of, even about yourself-- nagiging concern mo lang is yung minsan nag-iiba yung schedule, hindi ka aware. Pero in terms of quality of ride, A: Interesting. comfort, price, still acceptable. Yun. C: Yeah, even about yourself, even about others, even C: How often do you take the P2P? about what you see outside.

A: Siguro before, when I started it, siguro around uh… A: Alam mo yung ano, you know… you know how minimum once a week. But nowadays I take it at least Alabang is always a food destination? Kasi mas naging four times a month. Kasi I’d rather bike na lang. Oo. Kasi I accessible siya to people. I’ve noticed people who actually moved to BGC eh. When I was in Pasig, sobrang gamit ko just take the P2P to experience Alabang. yung P2P. When I moved to BGC, it’s nearer to Makati kasi eh, so I don’t need to take the Makati line. So yun. C: Talaga? Then, uhm, of course… I don’t think the BGC Bus is counted as a P2P system, unless you take it—you take the A: Yeah. As in wala silang—wala… no, kasi, for example, Market Market – Ayala Station… pwede pa yun, arguable, how much is the ride now? kasi straight lang yun, express yun e. Yun. That’s what uh… That’s why my own ridership got cut down because C: Hundred. geographically I moved, ‘no. Because I’m nearer Makati, I don’t need to take… I can bike it. So yun, but not because A: Di ba? How much is the toll? 122 Filinvest, 164 pag of any other thing other than I chose to ride my bike ano, pag Skyway. Car, parking. If you wanna experience more. […] Alabang, food trip, Yushoken, Molito… mga stuff like that, freakin’ take the P2P. One hundred pesos. No, it C: How do you think your day to day life has changed? actually opens up Alabang to, to—in terms of its—I Can you elaborate on it a bit? I mean, at least—in your dunno, uh, well that’s what I noticed. It—it opened access case it’s not really a day to day life thing, but at least with to Alabang to more people. Like, you know, gusto mong the introduction of that in your life… tumambay sa Alabang, pucha, one hundred pesos! Pwede na. Di ba? Kasi walang—walang viable commute. A: With the P2P, it made—primarily it gave me more No, no freakin’ jeep takes you there. Grab is super options to commute around Manila. I have a backup to expensive. Walang… yun yung gusto ko sa Alabang line in my bicycle, I have uh… I can mix and match my particular… wala kasing MRT, LRT. No mass transport na commutes. Pair a P2P with the MRT. Pair the P2P with solid touches Alabang. You have to take the back routes, the bicycle, or pair a Grab ride to a P2P, parang ganoon. the, the… ano yun? The service roads. Nobody takes the So the P2P actually has opened more options for me to… freakin’—unless you take the Muntinlupa bus. But you and [the same] in scheduling, for example, “Ay, di na ako want to go to Alabang. You don’t—parang, ‘Okay, I don’t aabot sa MRT. Or nag—like, the MRT has stopped.” Pero wanna take Muntinlupa because I might get lost.’ Parang by P2P pwede. So it gave me—life in general, as a ganoon. So yun yung napansin ko ah. Mga iba doon, commuter, in terms of the P2P, has given me more parang talagang pupunta lang sila para tumambay sa options to get around Manila. But of course, that’s really Alabang […]. more of an adjunct talaga to bicycle commuting. Kasi like I mentioned, in the previous question, stuck pa rin siya sa C: Astig ah. Okay. kalye e. So it’s still a road user na malaki. So at the end, wala. Pag magbi-bike ako from, from BGC to Makati, or A: Pero ganoon. Aside from that, I see a lot of people Pasig to Makati, I’d rather ride my bicycle kasi alam ko ferrying from Makati to Alabang. I have a friend who’s talo ko pa rin yung P2P. But at least it’s there. It gives me based in Alabang, she was able to get work here in a convenient and safe and viable option in terms of Manila, in particular sa Taguig, because may access siya. [commuting]. Yun. […] Minsan kasi, I still, I still drive… She doesn’t drive anymore. Kaya niyang pumasok sa work mga once a month, to get to… mainly to get stuff. Parang ng naka-P2P siya, papasok siya, tapos magkokomyut siya if I need stuff for my place, ganoon. Usual cleaning and papunta sa work niya sa may pa-Taguig area. Tapos babalik siya. Ganoon. It opened up the commute talaga.

- 5 - Myself, ako, wala naman. I mean, like I said, uh, it gives C: Yeah. Okay. This is kind of theoretical, I think; it has me a stress-free—a relatively stress-free option for something to do with what you mentioned earlier. commuting. A: Yeah. C: Okay, okay. How has taking the P2P—in addition to your biking—changed the ways in which you know C: When thinking about yourself as someone who’s Manila? Did it change, did it give you new insights? If mobile and able to move, how would you—how would there’s none, okay lang naman. you define or describe rhythm?

A: Ano, ano? Manila? How I knew Manila? A: Ah, okay. Interesting. Huh. Rhythm.

C: Yeah. In the ways that you know the city. C: Yeah. So, just to give an example…

A: Ah, interesting question. The P2P won’t give you A: Sige, sige. that—that perspective. Because you’re still in a vehicle. But biking really opened up Manila for me, ‘no? For C: So I interviewed someone I think two weeks ago, and example, if you bike around, uh—if you bike around then her answer at first was music. Because she was Pasig, if you pass by the Universal Robina area, amoy ano musical. And then later on, she linked it to it being that siya—amoy biscuits siya sa umaga. Hindi mo maaamoy thing when you’re in sync with someone—all the rest of yun sa car. Or for example if I go to let’s say, Makati, the people on the bus. So that was her answer. When Legazpi, Salcedo, mga restaurants diyan, kabit ka lang ng you’re in sync with everyone else. So that’s one example. ano, ng bike doon sa poste, tapos kain ka sa loob— And then I had another interviewee who gave me a Yardstick, for example, Your Local, stuff like that. Uhm, it different answer, sort of similar, pero sinabi niya, uh, “It’s gives—it, it, it—I mean, hear—hear, smell, feel Manila. the way I move versus everyone else’s.” So it was very Talaga. Pati yung bagong ligo na mga babae na internal, very separate from everyone else. Yeah. naghihintay sa jeep, naaamoy ko yan. […] So it opened up Manila, the soul of the city for me ah. As a commuter, A: Ako, in terms of that, uhm, well, uh—parang, I think, ‘no. And I—especially when I bike going home, I feel the me, my rhythm changes, ‘no. It’s adaptable, in terms of vibe of the city. Weird, but I mean, not a lot of people get uh, I can be my own rhythm. When I bike commute, that’s that. But if you’re in a car kasi, you know, you’re very me. Like what you mentioned, I have my own rhythm, constricted to your own devices. Wala, car, cellphone, ‘no. I can actually—I can complement, like when I shift ganyan. Yun. I mean, I get to explore a lot more on a through traffic, ‘no, that’s me uhm, parang, just fitting in bicycle. Uhm, yung eskinita sa Pasig going—actually I with everybody, but getting slowly—getting through tend to go to Makati at times yung mga small alleyways, where I—but I can be as independent because I am not or even Manila—you know, I—I—sometimes I take a bike stuck with—like if everybody is playing a bad note or a to MOA or Malate or Taft. So it’s—it opened up what bad rhythm, I make my own because I know that’s—swak Manila is for me kasi, for me ah, being a commuter, siya sa akin and it does what I wanna do as a commuter. actually, is being… parang ano, closer to what the soul— But at the same time, adaptable, because for example, na ah, to what the city’s soul is than being a car driver. I can match my own rhythm with others, like people using the P2P. So I can change the way I commute in C: Yeah, yeah. That’s a nice answer. How would you order to, to merge with other people, because of course, describe yourself as a commuter? in terms of mass transportation concepts, it has to be— mataas […] ang ridership, we have to ride with people. A: Okay. Uhm, for me, as a commuter, I’m primarily a So, the flexibility of me being as a commuter, I’m able to, bike commuter, secondarily a mass transport [commuter]. in terms of rhythm, I can be in sync with other people, So yun… uh, I think bike commuting in particular even then I can play my own rhythm afterwards. So that’s how made me—or even, uh, well, not really MRT or LRT, ‘no, viable bike commuting is actually, ‘no. You can choose to, but the novel ways of commuting and getting around, “Okay, punta akong MRT, pero bike muna ako.” Then actually is empowering yourself. A commuter for me, okay, fuse with everybody, go with them… then okay, when I transitioned to commuting, that’s like, giving me bye. Kalas na ulit ako. So it’s the adaptability of my empowerment that I can choose how to go about my day. rhythm in terms of traffic and commuting rhythm. I’m not stuck to my car, I’m not subjected to the rigors of the MMDA, the traffic lights… I’m not dependent on C: Okay. Nice, nice. I like that. Okay, uhm, what words other people’s time, ‘no, in terms of what I want to do. would you relate or associate to ‘commute’? Kasi yung P2P, […], fine, it’s restricted, but, like, you know for a fact that may schedule siya, comfortable siya, A: Okay… [on] the personal level, it’s—commute’s hindi ka nagsu-suffer like the other people driving. You supposed to focus on human mobility, ‘no. Smooth. I are relieved of that. So yun. As a commuter, it’s basically mean Alt Mobility, MNL Moves, time and time again, it’s commuting… choosing to commute and choosing the actually ‘moving people, not cars’. Taglines nila ganoon. ways I commute is like, how I empower myself. For me kasi, a commute should—in the perspective of the Philippines, it’s suffering. In old school ah, suffering—

- 6 - like, wala kang pera, wala kang kotse, mahirap ka. like that. But it hasn’t—it doesn’t have to be that way. It Commute—a commute is usok, siksikan, ‘no. Yun yun. Yun doesn’t have to be […]. yung meaning noon before. But we all have the opportunity to change that. Like commuting for me in C: Okay. This again is a bit uhm, maybe theoretical. Not terms of a bike is empowerment because I’m able to really. Depends. Okay. Uh, in, say, in the course of a day choose how I wanna go home […]. Commuting in terms or a week, when are you a commuter and when are you of P2P is actually comfort, convenience, ‘no. Commuting not a commuter? in terms of, of focusing on—moving people, not cars, is actually activism, an advocacy. Focusing on, on… on A: I’m always a commuter. going back to the people, to the commuter. Yan yan sina Ira, people who go to the senate… […] there’s a need for C: Okay. No, no, ‘cause sometimes it’s like, uhm, for us to be a bit—counter-institution. Our institutions are instance, some other people can like, say na, “Ah, okay, built on the situations we’re in now. But we can change now, employee na ako. Papunta na akong work, wala na that. A commuter doesn’t have to undergo suffering. A ako sa bus or sa jeep.” Ganoon. Mga ganoon. commuter doesn’t have to be in […] poverty. And we can see that—if you go abroad. The default way of going A: Ah, okay. Ako kasi I embraced being a commuter around Singapore is by the train. The default way of because it turned to—it turned to be my advocacies. I going around New York is via subway. So it’s really… I mean simple lang. Pwede ka naman kasi maging commuter mean. It starts from—it started from me. I chose to na, ‘Okay, getting through the day.’ You know, the typical embrace commuting and turn it into a good thing. aspect of commuting na parang I just wanna get this over Eventually you find people who would share the that with. I just wanna go to work. Okay, tapos na ako maging vision […]. commuter. Businessman na ako, or okay, time to sell stuff or, work. Ganyan. Uy. Tapos na araw ko, aww man, time C: What words would you relate to ‘the commuter’? to… But that perspective kasi—that—that perspective is fragmented, because ang laki ng impluwensiya ng A: Well, they’re the same. Pero yeah, the commuter is— suffering noong being a commuter sa buhay mo eh. Di ba, well, in the perspective of a lot of… there’s a difference— data—marami ngang data yan eh, ilang hours nawawala, a commuter… sorry, a car driver should not associate ilang milyong piso nawawala. So for me, I don’t—I am a himself or herself with a commuter. I strongly believe commuter. All the time, so the way I talk to people, that. I strongly believe that. especially at my stature as a physician, it’s an oxymoron, kasi na—yun, more kasi that I’m a bike commuter and an C: So for you they’re very different figures. emergency physician. “Hindi ba delikado yan?” Hindi. You have to do stuff to make it safe. But yun nga, in terms of A: They’re two separate figures. I used to drive a car, ‘no. like, I’m a doctor—people don’t associate physicians in I used to say, ‘Ah, this commute sucks!’ Ganoon. Eh. Kasi typical Filipino fashion as a commuter: “Si dok, nagbu- you are not being a car driver, being in a big seven-seater bus? Si dok, nagje-jeep?” Ganoon. Pero meron! Dumadami SUV and—and—and being one driver? You’re not part of na kaming nagco-commute, […] kasi ang suffering talaga the solution. So I… First of all, a commuter is not a car siya, di ba. So that’s why I embrace myself as a commuter driver. I strongly believe that. Iba yung sinasabi nina everyday. And I talk to people, I interact with people. […] James Deakin, Adviser PH, whatever. But for me, my When they ask me, “How’d you get here?” “Oh, I rode the personal beef is the commuter is not a—is not a car bike, I rode P2P, I rode the P2P,” because I want—it’s my driver. The car driver is not a commut—ah, sorry, a car advocacy, no matter how small my voice is, really to, at driver is not a commuter. A commuter is a—a person least in my way, change people’s perspective on how a who, who has to move around because of a lot of things commute is, how commuting is, how it should be. So yun. but is currently suffering, because he or she is not favored. They are the majority. They are the ones who C: Are there things or are there rhythms that you relate to need to be empowered. They are the ones who, who need commuting? Personal ones or I don’t know, things that to be listened to, ‘no. So yun. Parang, well, typically, a you observe. commuter is yung mga mahihirap, ganyan, but I don’t want to think like that, ‘no, kasi that’s—that’s wrong A: Wha—sorry, what the question? mentality eh. But the commuter is the one—is the majority, is the voice to be heard, is the—the commuter is C: Are there things or rhythms or elements that you relate the, the Filipino—the modern Filipino hero, because he or to the activity of commuting? It could be in your own she has to go through suffering to put money on the table, ways or manners of commuting. Or what you just observe ‘no—ay, put food on the table, to earn for his or her generally, yeah. family, to continue working for services. Nurses, doctors, uh, policemen, whatever, kahit anong background mo. If A: Uh, well, for a bike commuter, freedom. That’s one you go through the commute, you’re being a hero, kasi concept or element that I would associate to being a bike you’re putting yourself—you’re making yourself suffer or commuter. Magbi-bike ka, dadaanan mo lahat ng choosing na, I mean, nagtitipid ka para sa family mo, stuff naghihintay ng jeep. Dadaanan mo lahat ng naghihintay ng taxi, ng Grab. Uh, freedom in terms of your time,

- 7 - freedom in terms of financial constraints kasi ang laki ng tinitipid ko, freedom uh, in terms of uh, being restricted C: Ano sinasabi nila? in what I can and I cannot do. But in terms of uh, being part of the general commuter, well, right now, it’s really A: Parang, “Ah! Sir, ano ba yan! Magbabayad ka pa ng suffering. Suffering talaga. As in if I would reattach my dagdag! Or wag na lang.” Sa train mahirap. rhythm, my personal rhythm to everyone else’s, magsa- suffer talaga ako. MRT, P2P, stuff like that. It’s suffering. C: Bakit? It’s kalbaryo. Injustice is one concept—it’s, it’s also one concept, element that I can associate with commuting. A: Kasi masikip. Masikip. Pero pwede yun. Pero masikip. Talaga. […] You have just to time it lang. Of course, consideration also for other people. Yeah, so ako, like, kaya ako [bababa C: I’ll go back to riding the bus a bit. na lang] or usually pag ganyan, pag mukhang puno yung ride, I can wait for the next bus na pwedeng pumasok ako. A: Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Because parang kasi it’s literally a folding bike is, like, you bought…alam mo yung mga taong bumili ng malaking C: So, I’ll go to the ride itself. So—every, like—on some of bagay tapos ilalagay mo sa P2P, parang ganoon lang siya. the rides, what do you do? Or rather, what do you do on the bus when you ride it? C: So okay, sige. Natutuwa yung mga tao? Yung iba?

A: I, I rest. No, I mean, […] I rest. I have a bit of motion A: Yeah, yung iba curious. Yung iba… wala, I—I haven’t sickness kasi, not so bad—not so bad, but I don’t watch had any negative comments at all. Kasi of course, as [on my] iPad, I rest and listen to music, kasi it’s my time folding bikers kasi, we, we—my, my types of folding to—kasi, coming from a car driver, right, you can’t rest on bikes—also, more—a lot of us are considerate naman na your commute if you drive a car, kasi you’re like […] But talagang tinatabi naman, it’s not [obstructive], ganyan. if you’re on the P2P, or even—I mean, P2P in particular Kasi, you know, it’s a unique way of going around. You’d kasi it’s comfortable eh, you can rest. You can… It’s a rather… ah, be… if you’re gonna be a folding biker, you’d pause. Parang I use that time to maximize [rest] because I rather people be pleased and be curious about it, rather go on shifts [where it’s stressful] so whenever I go on the than have negative comments. Unless siyempre, pag hindi P2P, rest. Pahinga talaga. Recharge. Lalo na kung malayo talaga pumayag yung bus, you have to tell us why. Kung like Maka—QC to Makati or Makati to Alabang. Pahinga punung-puno, then fine, understandable. Pero parang, talaga. “Ah, ayaw namin.” Then magagalit kami. Pero sa P2P, [wala], super bait. C: So, when you bring your folding bike in, nagre-react ba yung mga tao? C: Have you ever had bad experiences on the P2P? I mean, aside from the… A: Yeah, yeah. Parang, “Ano yan?” Parang, “What’s that?” I mean, folding bike in general, when they see it fold, A: Ah no, no. Yung time lang talaga. Changing the parang, what? So parang, “Ah, meron palang ganyan?” I schedules, parang pupunta ka doon, [then] you have to get curious stares, questions… wait for [a few] minutes kasi nag-iba pala sila ng schedule na hindi ko alam. It’s really the time and the scheduling C: Where do you—so where do you sit, for instance? na walang—wala kang central hub of information to check ano na ba talaga yung mga schedule noong mga ‘to. A: Ah, depende sa—what I usually do is—of course, You have to check per provider’s page, Genesis, DNS, stuff papaalam ko muna doon sa conductor. The issue is, “Sige, like that. Hindi ka pwedeng pumunta sa isang central hub sir, pero last mo na ipapasok yan.” So usually doon sa mga na parang… Kasi that’s the point of the P2P. Dapat hindi doorways, of course, siyempre, parang, wala, kasi not siya parang jeep. Ang jeep nag-iiba yung oras, nag-iiba everything is designed. But there are P2P buses na long- yung stop, you know, parang… yung P2P hindi. Kaya yun haul na pang may cargo space—isa pwede doon. Pero like, yung kanyang good thing about it, right? It’s predictable, yung mga folding trikes, yung kung maliit, kasi there are it has time, uh, time limits, you know where it’s going or small ones na are parang 16-inch, if you—if you find time where it’s gonna drop you. So, pag medyo nagulo yun, to research it, try to research Brompton. It’s a UK type of like, nag-iba pala yung drop point or nag-iba pala yung folding bike that’s really designed to be small. Yun yung time, medyo nakakabadtrip. Hindi naman badtrip, pero parang suitcase lang siya. [My] folding bike is a bit bigger nakaka… parang, “Okay, fine.” than that, pero parang suitcase lang din, sakto. Shove mo lang doon sa tabi, tapos may mga locks naman yun, you C: May kinakausap ka ba sa bus? can lie [it] down. Stuff like that. […] A: Wala. C: Were you ever—were you ever turned away noong may bike ka…? C: I always just want want to ask everyone I interview. Wala lang. A: Sa P2P hindi. Sa bus marami akong naririnig.

- 8 - A: Wala. I’m an introvert by—by—I mean, by, when I ka magugulat: “Okay, wait a minute, iba na pala yung commute, I’d rather… quiet lang ako. Unless may kasama oras niyan!” ako. […] C: [question on media contribution, contact, etc.] […] C: Okay. Okay, fair enough. Could you talk about the space, like the physicality of the ride? […]

A: Ah, yeah. Okay. A: …It’s interesting that you’re doing the Alabang line, kasi QC, Trinoma, it’s such an adjunct eh. But Alabang is C: Could you describe it for me? I dunno. Like, any like the transportation—public transportation of choice. particular memories… Walang way eh! Wala talagang way. But of course, siyempre, yun nga, yun—yung perspective is the A: Wala naman… I just have to be sure there’s space for demographics are different talaga. […] Of course it’s—it’s my bike. Yun lang. In terms of—pag, in terms of me, pag not na, parang—there’s still gaps, pero it helps removes kunwari, wala akong bike, ayun, like kagaya kanina, nag- you from the stress of riding the car. […] And like what BGC Bus ako, okay lang. Well, typical. It’s still more people would say, an option. comfortable than if you’d taken the bus, and they respect load limits, passenger limits. Yun lang. And then in terms of aircon, malamig. Comfortable. The comfort is there. Yun lang, yung BGC Bus, it’s not a P2P ah, pero yung circuit—minsan nagiging public bus siya, umuupo yung mga tao sa lapag… ang lakas ng ridership talaga.

C: Okay.

A: They use the P2P bus to get to Market Market. P2P also opened up main transport hubs na nagbago. Like Market Market is now a big, big, big transport hub going south. Makati is now an intersection for QC to Makati, ‘no, so we have a transport hub and BGC in between, as in meron mga nag-i-interlink dyan na mga UV, BGC bus…yun.

C: Okay. Because you’re, you’re part of so many advocacies and groups, you ever think to have a consolidated… I dunno, app or something?

A: Actually, I think it’s very much possible, but I mean uhm, so far I don’t see the providers battling over ridership, kasi ang dami talaga. So we can actually—for me, if—it would be nice if they consolidate and work together or even the DOTr, or the LTO, or you know, whoever governing body, actually develop it, na parang merong app na nagsche-schedule, not just the P2P, but the times. Kasi there is the SakayPH app—

C: I think I have that—

A: Yeah. Pero I don’t know if it’s—there’s P2P’s there eh. But siyempre P2P kasi is more—is supposed to be more predictable. SakayPH is more of estimates eh. Oo. So parang, P2P dapat may oras, ganoon—of course, I don’t think it’ll be as modern as sa abroad na parang on the dot. Kasi that usually is—they transform it to a BRT, bus [rapid] system. Pero pag ganyan, siyempre, still it involves lanes with cars. So unpredictable pa rin yung time. But at least have like, an information center, or even—kahit nga hindi app eh, kahit Twitter. Twitter lang na nagco- consolidate ng time nila, or bulletin board na lahat sila nag-u-update sa central information hub para alam namin… Kunwari iba yung provider sa pupuntahan mo, di

- 9 - 21 JAN 2020 that having a car or a vehicle would be less of my life Transcribed Interview with Ron priorities. Venue: Starbucks ATC 16:00 C: Okay. So, uhm, could you tell me a little bit about yung step-by-step commute mo. For instance, a day in the life. Yung for example, pag-alis mo ng bahay, what do you do R: Meron akong house, pero ano, ano, yung buying a to get to a media event? vehicle will be the last of my life priorities kasi—parang, okay pa ako as a commuter. R: Of course, of course, you really have your battle plan. Because like, for example, BGC is one, one big area. C: [… INTRO RE: P2P, brief discussion on P2P topic] Luckily, when BGC was born, uhm, uhm, there’s already a specific bus line that travels around. Uhm, there’s uhm— C: So…For the purpose of this recording, could you just previously called the Fort Bus. So we’re not talking about give me your name? First name is fine. Your age and what the P2P, right? you do. Pwedeng Tagalog, pwedeng English, pwedeng Taglish. C: Yeah, we’re not talking about it.

R: Uhm, by the way, I’m Ron. Uhm, uhm… what I’m R: Okay, okay. Before, uh, actually, […] for about three, doing in life right now, actually, I’m a tech blogger for… four years ago, the Alabang – Market Market BGC was for over ten years. I’m a certified Southie. And I think, born. But way before, as BGC was born in 2004, there uhm, one of—I’m one of the pioneer tech bloggers who— was one—only one bus that time, the Fort Bus. It was who are living—living […] from the south since day one. named after the Fort area. And later on, they, they And unlike most of my tech blogger peers who have their renamed it to BGC Bus. Uhm, there was a time that, uhm, cars, have their usually go into those […] solutions, uhm, me as a rocker—imagine us, we were in a rock concert. I’m proud to usually uh, ride on either an aircon bus or We were 100 all in black shirt, cramming—cramming P2P bus when uh, going in or going out of my usual around this one, one huge bus, because the bus that time media events. was not that too many. Until fast forward to 2009, uhm, it—when my blog began—still no effort in terms of C: So, how old are you? commuting. It was pretty, it was pretty good. But in the recent years, since 2017, I have a battle plan. If I have a R: 35. media event for, that sets around the evening, like for example, five pm and up, I’ll go in BGC three pm, because C: 35. Okay. Uh, where are you from? there’s a cut-off time. For example, if you’re in the Glorietta area, if you’re—by five pm, for sure you’ll be R: From Calamba. arriving there in BGC two hours. In two hours—because of the, the traffic in Forbes Park area, the possible traffic C: And where do you live currently? in C5 area. And the only way to get inside the BGC is through—is a secret. Kalayaan Avenue. R: In Calamba. C: Okay. But how did you—so how did you go to, say for C: […] Okay, so, before the P2P, how did you move example, Glorietta from Calamba? Nagbu-bus ka ba? around? Ano yung commuting life mo, you know, before the introduction—if you could tell me a little about how R: I go to bus. Yeah. It’s—it’s quite easy. Glorietta, uh, you normally commute. Like from the beginning, or from Glorietta to South Station, and then just walk a few the middle, ganoon. meters from South Station, there are already buses to Calamba. R: Uh, like, mostly from Alabang… actually most of my media events are either in BGC or in Makati. Bus is the C: Okay. Do you have—do you have any particular only way to go to those uhm, to those venues. And good memories from that time? Could you be a bit more thing—I’m, I’m—I’m pretty fortunate that being a elaborate? Like, yung mga may funny stories nung time na Southie, you only have less effort in terms of traveling or yun? commuting, because obviously at that time, we already had the Skyway and we already had the C5. And R: Ah, around—you mean commuting? obviously, I think up to this time, uhm, there are still less people here in the south part of Metro Manila than in the C: Yeah. To and from media events, concerts, whatever… northern part of Metro Manila. So I think that’s the reason. If you noticed, some of the developers lately are R: Uh, there’s a–actually, there’s a mix. There’s a mix. For now going to the south lately, but not before. Because example, I was—I came from a bar. And going home they just realized it lately. So, […] I think most of the south, and I noticed that inside—I mean, while uh, the time, I do not have that much effort in commuting. That’s southbound of Magallanes station… I knew it from afar… why I really chose… uh, like what I mentioned earlier that, for example, one hundred meters away from the - 1 - bus, I saw a shadow of a knife. I think that bus was uhm, C: When was that? Around what time—when was that? held up. So when—that, that hold-upper was about to approach me, I know I had to go to—to the northern part R: I think that was around… late 2016. just to run away first, just for, for safety. I ran straight to the ter—‘cause the overpass of the Magallanes MRT is the C: Ah okay, when it was actually introduced, more or less. nearest way to escape on that and go northbound. I went In the year that it was introduced, tinry mo na yung… there, to the northbound and I checked. I checked from— ‘cause I think it was in 2016 that they more or less— of course, from the overpass you can check if the, the bus at the southbound is already safe. I went back. There’s R: It was late 2016, if I’m not mistaken. a—there’s a… uhm, different stories on the bus. Yeah. There are many stories like uh, for example… those C: And you heard about it via Facebook. people who have the wide shoulders. I […] I’m a thin guy but I have wide shoulders. So, those city bus that have R: Yeah. those really not so wide seats is already a discomfort— that’s already one discomfort for me. That’s why I love C: Ah, okay. So why did you start taking it? those provincial buses from Calamba to Alabang because they have wider seats compared to city buses. I think R: I think I’m about to divulge my formula… Here’s a that’s the only thing that made me… that I treat as a secret. I noticed as a traveler, as a commuter, if you’re discomfort. going out in Glorietta from four pm and onwards, I think until eight pm…if you did your shopping in Glorietta and C: So now, how do you go to work or how do you go you’re living in Alabang, for sure you’re not gonna have a around? What do you use? This is including buses, P2P, proper seat if you’re gonna take a ride on an Alabang bus jeep, trike… mga ganoon. through the EDSA Ayala station, because from Guadalupe itself, almost all of the seats are already taken. And plus R: Okay. It depends. Like I previously mentioned, two of the fact, from four pm, either on the weekends or my usual events are in Makati or in BGC. In BGC, as of weekdays, you’re gonna have one big platoon of uhm, this date, I have to go to two bus rides from the near, uh, competitors. The workforce of—the Makati workforce the SM Calamba there. There are a number of terminals who are usually going home to, for example, Alabang and there. You can choose from Saint Rose… but there’s a Las Pinas areas. Imagine… imagine the Makati workforce better option right there, just a few meters, because they that… like, let’s say those, those who are working in malls have free WiFi. Calamba to Alabang. Then from Starmall or they have their eight to five jobs, that’s one big platoon Alabang, that’s where all the, the buses converge, of competitors if you are about to get a ride to Alabang. including those from the Bicol area. They stop by there, You will notice it. Those who are living in Alabang are and then a few walks away, there’s already a Market still lucky compared to the ones who are living in FTI Market bus. And recently, they had—the payment system Makati—ay, FTI Tenement. Imagine a public bus in FTI of the Market Market has a sort of an upgrade. They have Tenement packed around one hundred people, in this sort of a card that you can punch from the public—an ordinary bus. That’s a lot… harder. That’s why conductor’s sort of little machine on his hand. But uhm, I I chose P2P, especially when I have a—either I have think that’s a lot more easier to go to BGC if you’re leisure time in Makati or I have a media event. Obviously coming from Alabang area. Except, except there’s a little the wider seats, the bigger legroom… I’m a five-ten… pain right now in the northern part because uhm, of the five-ten and a half guy, and there are some times that I ongoing Skyway, Skyway expansion. But before, to have those big packages when I have… usually when I traverse to the SLEX and C5, you can arrive—you can have review units on hand. Or sometimes it’s a big help travel from Alabang to Market Market in forty-five during Christmas time. There was a time I mean—I had a minutes. It’s that easy. media party… [this was in] the Greenbelt area and I got a huge, huge bag—an ecobag. Imagine four, four boxes of C: So via P2P ‘to, just to clarify? shoes… all in… in… by twos. That’s how, that’s how wide my ecobag [was] in that time. You cannot—you cannot R: It’s not a P2P bus. It’s a normal, it’s a normal bus. But it cram that big ecobag in a normal city bus. You have to already stops by the C5 area, because there are some ride to the P2P. That’s why I’m taking it. Obviously it’s workers who stop there. I think… I’m not sure… there are twice the price, but—but it is okay. You’re paying for the some… making some… they are making some stops in comfort, you’re paying for a newer bus unit, obviously. the McKinley area, and there’s also… there’s one bus stop, And some[how] you’re also paying for your safety, I think going to Vista Mall Taguig before the U-turn, the especially if I’m bringing around a forty thousand U-turn going to the southbound, which is… that is the smartphone. Especially if that smartphone is a soon-to-be- end to Market Market. released one. Yeah. So you really have to take care of it.

C: Okay. If I may ask, when did you start taking the P2P? C: Okay. So for the purpose of this recording, which P2P routes do you take? R: When I saw it on Facebook.

- 2 - R: I think the most frequent will be the Greenbelt – ATC R: The same reasons that I mentioned. Like the—the route. But for the record, I also took—I also tried formula that I mentioned, those are still the [same]. In Glorietta-Nuvali route and also tried thrice on the fact, earlier they—it’s almost hard to go to Alabang Greenbelt – Ayala Mall South Park route. And also, ano, I from—actually I came from Glorietta earlier. Same took some P2Ps from—there’s a—there’s another from formula. another bus company, there’s P2P rides from Starmall Alabang to Vista Mall Daanghari. They have P2P system C: And you used the, the P2P also? because the Vista Mall Daanghari and Starmall Alabang… is under the same owner, which [is] a former senator R: Not this time. here in the Philippines. C: Ah, okay. How did you go to Glorietta earlier, if I may C: So, going back to the first few times that you took the ask? P2P, do you remember the first few times that you took it? Were there any memories that stood out? How did it R: There’s an aircon bus going to South Station. Then feel? Was it hard or was it easy to get used to? Could you from South Station, there’s a jeep going here to Alabang talk about it a little bit? Town Center.

R: Uhm, first time experience… of course, I was a bit C: How often do you take the P2P? Say, for example, in a shocked on the payment system. That time there was week, or a month? Beep. Actually up to this point I’m not a big fan of the Beep system; in fact, I’ve already lost my Beep card once. R: I cannot say it for every week, I think the safest will be But during the trial time, the Greenbelt – ATC route was around two to three times a month. eighty pesos. Nowadays they already change— C: And usually at what time do you take it? C: A hundred. R: Actually, I’m using the P2P more during prime time. R: —change it to a hundred pesos. That was only a little The five—the five—the rush hour. shock value to me. But every time I go on—go in line for the Greenbelt – ATC route, I always look forward on that C: Coming from here to Glorietta? Volvo bus. That’s the—that’s the granddaddy of the P2P bus on that route. R: Actually more coming from Glorietta—from Greenbelt to here. C: Why is that? C: Ah, okay, okay. So the rush hour, yung pila— R: Wider seats, bigger legroom. Oo. Because lately, I think a few months after it had a successful run, they had those R: Because coming from Alabang to Makati, it’s—it’s a lot city buses that they converted into P2P bus. That is the easier. one that I’m sometimes complaining—not that wide seats. C: So how do think your—okay, in your case, you only C: Can you compare the first few times that you took it to take it about three times a month, di ba? So how do you your experience now? Is there anything different in terms think your life has changed because you have this P2P? of how you sense the bus, or…? May nag-iba ba from the Dapat kasi… okay, yung question ko originally, day-to-day first time to now when you take…? life, assuming that you would have taken it everyday. But I guess in this case, monthly life—how has it changed? R: No difference naman. Wala namang nagbago. Wala namang nagbago sa ano, sa route. Except for the price. R: Uhm, there’s a chain reaction, obviously. When I’m And obviously if you’re… you’re riding on a P2P, I think going home from a media event, di ako pagod. Di ako on the good side, they made the conscious effort—usually pagod. Wala, obviously, up to this point, buti na lang in kasi they have an hour interval, but the company behind my ten years of tech blogging, I never lost a phone. I the P2P bus on the Greenbelt-ATC route, they made uh… know some of my peers lost their review peers, but none a drastic move that they moved their buses as much as on my case. Ano pa ba…? […] Actually… obviously… … they can… as long as there’s some people falling in line, I to summarize it up, more—it’s more—safer for me. Less think as early as thirty minutes. They make… they want time for—less travel time, obviously. Tapos hindi ako to move their buses as much as they can. Obviously, that pagod arriving at my workstation, because especially you is the primetime hours. So I think it’s a good move na have to type that news right away. Especially in our niche they should do it. na unahan kami. Unahan kami… unahan kami sa post, unlike yung mga ibang niche ng mga blogs like lifestyle C: So earlier I asked you why you started taking the P2P. […]. As in unahan kami. Yun so, yung P2P was a really So now yung question ko is, now why do you still take the big help. At least hindi ako pagod pagdating ko sa P2P as part of your regular commute? workstation, hindi ako haggard. Or, or if you have that big ecobag… Actually, that P2P saved me from TNVS.

- 3 - Imagine if I have—imagine there’s no P2P, I have a big, big ecobag. The only choice to, to transfer it is through R: ‘Di, tsaka napapansin din nila. Like what happened to TNVS. the, the—the viral Facebook post of a tattooed artist who gave uh, CPR to the security guard. For sure yung iba, C: Sorry, TNVS is? “Rakista ‘to!” Ganoon. Actually, that, that was my usually my feeling. Pero gets ko na yun. R: TNVS. The likes of Grab… (Transcriber Note: Transport Network Vehicle Services is the official term used to describe C: Okay. This one is a bit general, yung next kong tanong. vehicle owners who provide services via the Uber application Has riding the P2P given you…given you new insights in or Grab) knowing—in getting to know Manila? Or may bago ka bang insights about Manila by riding the P2P? C: Ah, okay. Okay. R: Uh… yeah, there is. Obviously, people want to… R: Plus another fact—city buses, they don’t open their before, when P2P launched sa… around late 2016, people compartments on the side, unlike on the provincial buses. are complaining, “Ang mahal!” Pero noong ano, noong So, so… the P2P is a big help. after a few months—ako rin, noong una, sabi ko, “Ang mahal ah!” Pero yung iniisip mo if uhm, they already C: Okay. Do you notice anything on your commute on the accepted the fact that uh, by paying extra, you’re getting P2P? I mean, kahit maliit na bagay, maybe you notice enough returns naman, like—like the previous reasons… something about yourself, maybe you notice something the reasons that I previously mentioned why people go to about other passengers… do you notice anything? P2P, obviously uh… people still want to have that energy before they go out. For sure, for sure yung iba doon, R: Like…Notice what? Ano? after—gusto nilang mag-P2P, baka mamaya magluluto pa sila sa bahay, they want to prepare for, for baon for their C: Kahit ano. It can be a very little thing. Like, for kids or they just store it in the ref and just prepare it the example… isang interviewee ko, she noticed that she next morning. Insights… probably yun nga, uhm, they really appreciated it when they would dim the lights want—comfort is the number one thing. And second will kapag umalis na sila from the station. be it opened to another alternate route. Kasi most of the P2P routes, hindi lang sila nagre-rely sa mga main artery R: Yeah. They usually do it, they usually do it. roads like EDSA and C5. That Greenbelt-ATC was going through the inner—inner Makati districts. Going for C: Yeah. She really liked it, because it allowed her to that—e-escape lang siya sa Skyway. That’s it. Yun. sleep, for instance. C: What about insights about yourself? Did you learn R: Yeah. They usually do it. anything about yourself because of the P2P, as a commuter? C: Yeah. So for instance, in your case, do you notice small things like that? R: Hmmm. Yung insights ko siguro na binanggit ko kanina na, na having a car will be the least of my priorities. Yun R: Yeah. Same—same, that’s the same case on the ATC- yun. Greenbelt route. They usually dim the lights when, I think before they go on the ramp of the Skyway going to C: Okay. Okay. My next question—do you think you Alabang. And uh, I noticed mostly, most of the—my co- know Manila better? riders are mostly professional. R: Depending on which kind of Manila. […] Are you C: Ah, yung talagang workers sa office. talking about the greater Manila area?

R: Actually, mas napapansin ko pa na mas naa-alienated C: Greater Manila area. Not Manila Manila, but you sila sa akin. Kasi this is my usual get-up. Most of my peers know, the city. in tech, they usually have their suits, their amerikana… but ako, as a commuter, obviously, I—imagine, hindi ko R: Not the Manila city ah. kayang naka-amerikana, kahit naka-P2P, hindi, di ko kaya. Hindi ko kaya. It will give me—it will give me a C: No, no, no. pa—I think, if I go amerikana on a daily basis in commuting, that’s a—that’s a security threat for me. R: Uh, I think I know a lot better Manila, because uh, That’s why I chose to be as this attire. Yun yung napansin since I was a teenager, I—I’m already a born commuter. na madalas na… most of the time, professionals ang And that time—there was no Google Maps at that time. nakakasabay ko. Obviously, amerikana sa Makati, Now you can go around with Google Maps and you have obviously… pero medyo naa-alienated lang sila [sa akin]. enough money and you have, uhm, you can also utilize social media to search how to go to Point A, to point B. I C: Eh kasi, Makati rin kasi. Tsaka ano, rush hour— think I know Manila a lot better. Yeah.

- 4 - C: Okay. So. What do you do during your ride on the bus? C: How would you describe yourself as a commuter? […] So you said you didn’t—you don’t sleep.

R: Ah, okay, okay, I know it. I’m more a disciplined guy. R: Yeah, I usually—it depends, uhm, like right now… I have a number of tech podcasts that I subscribe. Yeah. C: Could you elaborate a bit? Why do you say that? Obviously, it adds more knowledge. Uhm, second… uh, if the bus—if—if—on P2P bus, I am uh, I am uh—more R: It’s something like, I do not… di ako yung… hangga’t comfortable to edit some photos on the fly. Kasi if you’re maaari, ayokong matulog sa bus. Oo kasi safety reasons. on the city bus, medyo… kasi di ako yung… uhm, hindi Pangalawa, ayoko yung mang-iistorbo ako ng katabi ko, ako yung person na… ano na, ayokong yung kitang-kita… yung hihiling yung ulo ko sa, sa balikat. Hmm… ano pa yung kitang-kita na noong ibang mga katabi mo tsaka ba. Usually disciplined ako kasi meron din akong doon sa likod yung ano, yung phone mo, tapos sobrang pinapakinggan on the side eh. Actually, having my todo pa yung brightness mo. Yun. Lalo—ako, I also earphones while commuting is a, my sort of defense learned na with the age of smartphones, I open the phone mechanism. like this. Like this. Actually, walang… walang ano… uhm, actually, parang almost useless yung bumibili ng ano, ng C: Why is that? privacy mirror because… especially what if nasa likod kita? Kita ko pa rin. You stay on the privacy mirror. Pag R: Uh, actually, I brought that secret to one of my peers in P2P, pag P2P bus, I definitely, definitely I’ll go on the tech. Because one time, he lost his review unit in LRT. editing… editing on the fly. Especially if you’re… we’re Sabi ko, “Ba’t—bakit hindi ka kasi nag-earphones while, on the race on that particular post. Uhm, sometimes… while using that phone on LRT?” If you have that audio, when I got… got a call while on the ride, either P2P or at least a podcast, and someone tried to steal your phone city bus, sinasabi ko na, “I’m on transit. Can you please from your pocket, pag nawala yung audio… I know, I call me after a few minutes?” Sinasabi ko—di kasi, kasi know it’s going to happen. That—that’s why I always have there’ll be privacy issues, pangalawa, baka maiingayan my earphones ready. Not the Bluetooth ones; the wired yung katabi ko. Lalo na pag may… may pinirmahan akong earphones ready. Because that’s my number one defense embargo. Yun. Yun. mechanism—someone will try to steal your phone. Actually, none of my incidents yet on the bus na may nag- C: Okay. Okay. Do you talk to other people? Have you steal ng phone ko. There was one who tried sa jeep. Pero I ever talked to anyone on the P2P, or on the bus, or also had one mechanism more—when—my arm—I know whatever? he’s trying to get the phone from my pocket. But… no… yun. So, uhm… basta ako, more of a disciplined ano… R: Not at all. Kasi for sure baka ma-shock sila. Pero pag uhm, if—I never go on a commute without my earphones, may nag-ask sa akin, okay, sige. aside from that—aside from that security, security blanket ika nga. Ayo—ayoko nung ano eh, yung manonood ka ng C: Like, for example, ano na yung tinanong sa ‘yo dati? video or podcast na walang earphones, yung maririnig ka ng buong fifty persons in a bus. Especially if you’re on the R: The usual is ano, paano—paano bumaba in that P2P, mas nakakahiya yun. Mas nakakahiya yun. Actually. particular destination. Yun. Usually yun. Even—actually, pet peeve ko rin, even sa kids eh. Kasi… Kasi for sure that kid is accompanied by a parent, ba’t C: Okay, okay. […] What about the space on the bus? I hindi mo siya bigyan ng earphones or ano? Tsaka know you talked a lot about the seats being nice and siyempre, iisipin mo rin yung mga nasa surroundings mo. bigger than usual […] Do you feel the space when you’re Malamang pagod yun sa biyahe, they want a silent ride, on the bus talaga? Like for instance, yung parang ika nga. […] So earphones talaga yung… can’t live physicality ng bus, nafe-feel mo? Could you talk about it a without it in commuting. So yun. As a—more of a bit, aside from the seat space… disciplined commuter ako, di ako nagiging sakit ng ulo sa magiging mga katabi ko, kahit mukha akong rakista R: I mean, the condition of the bus? talaga. Baka magulat sila… mamaya… yeah, may ganoong instance na… there was a… most of the time, yung, yung C: Oo. Yeah. As a, as a user, how does it feel? I dunno. seat ko yung pinakanahuhuli na ma-occupy. Does it feel tight… not tight?

C: Doon ka sa gitna? R: Hindi pare-pareho kasi yung bus eh. Actually, I know… actually, I can tell the physicality of the bus by the bus R: Hindi, ‘di, ‘di. Ibig sabihin, for example, thirty. Ibig line itself. When, especially when either—when I’m going sabihin, isang—isang seat na lang yung natitira. Yun yung to those city buses, even way before the late nineties, nasa sa–yung sa akin yung madalas na natitira. Especially I’m—I’m always avoiding Pascual Liner. […] And up to that Greenbelt area, na-alienate sila sa akin. Pero I just this point. They are still, they are still one of the worst realized na, ah okay, disciplined commuter naman ako. bus lines […] and unfortunately they are still riding in Wag kayong matakot sa akin. Yun. So yun. Alabang. They have their—they have their rides in Alabang. [… talking about non-P2P buses]. Going back to

- 5 - the topic, uhm, physicality, I can tell the physicality by the hindi pa—yung buong area ng BGC hindi pa covered ng bus line itself. Second, if I hear something squeaky on the buong bus. Buong bus. So, the bridge is either going to back and if I smell something like rat, like lead, I know that BGC bus from Alabang or going to that BGC bus to it’s going to trouble. [… still talking about non-P2P bus the Forbes Park area, or you have no choice but to ano, that almost caught on fire.] to… to walk. Actually, I even—pinag-aralan ko na rin yung mga shortcuts ng BGC eh. C: Yung next question ko is a bit theoretical. So, I want you to associate or define this word. When you think of C: So alam na alam mo na talaga yung BGC area? yourself as someone who’s mobile, able to move, how would you describe rhythm in that sense? R: [Explains new shortcut between Market Market and Uptown] R: Sorry? C: My next question is what word do you relate to the C: Rhythm. How would you describe rhythm? [… typical word commuter? How would you define commuter? Or example given of first interview]. ano yung keywords na pumapasok sa utak mo if you think of commuter? R: I think rhythm is something that is smooth. […] There’s no interruption—I’m not sure if you’re talking R: Isang word yung nasa […] ko. Matiyaga. Matiyaga about rhythm… rhythm is connected to the commuting talaga. thing? C: Why do you say that? C: No, no, I mean, what you just said is actually quite good. It’s actually quite good, ‘cause it’s a very nice way R: Obviously, especially they will… uh, put in a number of putting it. If you have another word for it, obviously of hours. Depende kung saan siya nauwi ah. […] If—if—if okay rin. I—if he will be a southie like me, less effort eh. Less effort. Uhm… pero pag ikaw yung southie na you’re R: Actually, yun yung description ko sa rhythm eh. coming from Makati, you’re working in Makati and living Smooth tsaka no interruptions, obviously, no obstacles. in Alabang area, and you have no choice but to stand in the bus going to Alabang, that’s matiyaga. What’s more C: So can you relate that also to commuting? Is it the yung ano, yung mga nauwi sa FTI Tenement area. You same meaning when you think of commuting, “Ah, yung can, you can check that every night—it’s like sardines on rhythm also means, you know, hindi nai-interrupt yung wheels, yung FTI Tenement bus talaga. Matiyaga din, kasi commute.” obviously from those na working in the Ortigas area, living in Rizal area… you can check Starmall, EDSA area, R: Pag sa P2P, yes. there’s a lot of people lining up on the—the UV Express and jeepney rides going to Rizal. That’s matiyaga. […] C: What if it’s not on the P2P? And probably another perfect description for matiyaga, the Makati workforce living in Fairview. I noticed that as R: On the city bus, it depends on the times. Like I a commuter, I learned that months ago that the… from previously mentioned, during rush hours, talagang as in… the bus going to north, the Fairview bus or the forget the rhythm. Forget the rhythm! No, no. I mean ano, Blockbuster. Blockbuster pag Fairview bus, so if you’re uhm, kasi there are times na medyo ano, there was a day living in the Alabang area […] you’re just going to Cubao na, “Sana wala nang nakatayo sa gitna.” Yung parang via bus without MRT, avoid the Fairview bus as much as anong-ano ka, pawis na pawis ka, na pagod na pagod ka… possible kasi from Makati pa lang dudumugin ka na. So […] yun. that’s the… I think matiyaga is the perfect word for us commuters. C: Ito, same thing. What words do you relate to the word commute? When you think of commute, ano yung words C: Okay. This one again is a bit uh, theoretical… na pumapasok sa utak mo? Theoretical mostly because medyo nahihirapan din yung ibang interviewees ko to answer the question. When are R: I think it’s more of a bridge. you—in a day, when are you a commuter? Are you always a commuter during the day? Would you call C: Why is it a bridge? Kasi it’s between Point A and Point yourself a commuter the entire day? Or… Meron bang B? part of the day where you’re more or less subconscious or aware na ah, okay, ngayon, let’s say for instance, R: Yeah, you’re interconnecting. Especially if I’m a first- employee na ako, worker na ako ngayon. Pag apak ko ng timer in that area. Like, like, especially—that big BGC— bus, commuter ulit ako. Parang ganoon. big BGC area. There are a lot of restaurants there. There are a lot of restaurants and venues to choose from for a R: Ako, aware ako na commuter ako. Either I go, go out— possible media launch. Ise-search mo pa talaga kung what go inside Manila area for leisure or for… obviously I’m a is the best way. And unfortunately, up to this time na ano, freelancer, that’s a consideration already. Wala na sa

- 6 - akin. Kaya nga… those who bought their car—for sure habol ko. Unfortunately, the P2P bus right now, yung yung mga bumili ng kotse, one of the reasons aside from Market Market – SM Calamba route, they just converted the traffic, they want to go out of that commuter label. those city buses. ‘Di siya worth it. Kaya siguro sila bumili ng [kotse]. Ako, I can accept the fact na commuter, na commuter ako kasi… wala, ano, C: [more on media contribution] wala lang, normal thing lang. Walang ano—no big—no positive, no negative thing, no big, no small thing. [9:00 recording]

C: Okay. Are there things, rhythms or elements that you R: ‘Di pala lahat ng P2P wide yung seats. ‘Di, actually… can relate to the activity of commuting? Yung natuklasan ko yung Greenbelt – Nuvali route, ano, stiff yung seats niya. Ang sakit sa likod. P2P yun ah. P2P R: Sorry? yun. Pero if you go along the P2P, hindi siya technically P2P kasi may bumababa sa Laguna Bel-air, which is a C: Are there things, pwedeng […] physical objects, village before Nuvali. There is also going out in… Paseo rhythms or elements that you can relate to commuting? de Santa Rosa. I think yung pinaka-comfortable na P2Ps So… As an example, isang interviewee ko, sinabi niya… right now is… yun nga, obviously, may bias talaga yung ah, right away, sinabi niya, waiting. As in, lagi siyang Greenbelt – ATC because of the Volvo thing, pero I want naghihintay pag nagco-commute siya. So in your case, do to explore the P2Ps like going to Clark, the one… I think you have anything similar to that? magagamit ko sigurado yun, the Glorietta-UP Town Center, kasi ang hirap i-commute—yun ang pinaka—isa R: Ah okay, I can tell two viands. Dalawang ulam. I can sa pinaka-challenging na i-commute. Especially now na compare the commuting to those two types of viands. If it nawala yung LRT, through the train from the Katipunan, is a smooth ride, I can—parang ano lang siya, kung Anonas, Santolan route, wala yun. If you’re coming to UP smooth ride siya […], I can get it as a viand na, paksiw na Town… actually lately ko siya na-realize, noong nag— bangus kasi madali lang e. Pag yung ma-traffic, let’s say, after I had a Grab ride, coming to Makati, hindi ko naisip, yung nilagang baka or mechadong baka. ‘Cause matagal may P2P pala. Sayang. iluto yung baka eh. Matagal iluto yung baka, usually two hours yung minimum mo, depende kung matanda or bata C: […ending interview] pa yung nabili mo na baka. So yun yung—yun yung… I can compare it to two types of viands, para maiba naman. R: …and hopefully more routes. More routes.

C: Okay. Pero why do you compare it to those two things? Is it the length of time?

R: Kasi yung… Obviously yung paksiw madali lang lutuin. It only takes you a few minutes. Yung… if you’re a smooth ride, it only takes you a few minutes. If you’re a long ride, just like mechadong baka or nilagang baka, it will take you a number of hours. Yun.

C: Okay, but it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the taste of the ulam? Kasi minsan pwedeng sabihin, mas masarap yung mechado kaysa sa ano e, paksiw.

R: ‘Di, walang kinalaman yung taste. More on the time, more on the time. Yun. […]

C: […] [explaining media contribution]

R: Ewan ko lang kung kailan ako ulit magpi-P2P, kasi like I mentioned, mas nagpi-P2P ako sa Greenbelt. ‘Di ako masyadong—actually mas mahirap ang P2P sa BGC, although I know there’s already a P2P from BGC to SM Calamba. Kaso yung bus niya is converted lang ng city bus, so parang hindi siya… kinompyut ko siya, kinompyut ko siya by, by ano… ibig sabihin, yung factors mo obviously, the price difference and the travel time, ang liit lang ng difference. Except it—that—if that P2P bus from BGC to Calamba is… they have those Volvo buses, yun pwede. Yun, pwede, yun kasi… ang habol ko talaga sa P2P bus is the wider legroom. Wider legroom talaga yung, yung

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