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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider Atom Araullo reacts over backlash

Atom Araullo reacts over backlash

Published Dec 14, 2022 02:25 pm

A few days ago, Atom Araullo tweeted his observation on the country's public transportation.

He wrote: "Just arrived at the airport from an overseas trip. No coupon taxis, no metered taxis, no Grab. Wala rin tayong mga bus at tren dito. Basically kung wala kang sundo, you’re dead. It’s been an hour and counting. This is what a broken transpo system looks like."

Later, he shared that he was able to book through  a mobile application, less than two hours.

"Setting the pick up location to the departures area (T2) worked. Traffic nalang problema, hehe. Wawa yung mga nakapila pa sa taxi though, madalang talaga dating ng mga sasakyan. Salamat sa thoughts and prayers!," he added.

Well, his posts has "inspired" a lot of reactions online.

And in another tweets, Atom shared his two cents.

"Nairaos ko na ang ilang deadlines (woot) so I'll share additional thoughts on an important topic. Ang thread na ito ay pinamagatang: "makatarungan ang panghangad ng maayos na public transportation." Lezgaw!," he started.

He continued: "Una, maraming nakarelate. Matagal nang pasakit ang pag commute sa Metro Manila. Our public transportation system is...bad. Alam ito ng sinumang sumasakay ng tren, bus, jeep, atbp. The problem is so self-evident it doesn't require further elaboration. Marami na ring pagaaral dito."

"Pero di na rin nakagugulat ang maanghang na reaksyon ng iba sa ibinahagi kong karanasan. May mga allergic ata sa anumang puna sa lagay ng bansa natin. Kakatawa nga, malinaw naman na bunga ng ilang dekada ng kapabayaan ang problemang ito. Bakit defensive? Bato-bato sa langit? :)

"Tugunan natin ang ilang punto. "Elitista" o "entitlement" ba ang paghangad ng mas maayos na public transportation? Baliktad ata. Many people have no choice but to commute on a daily basis. A safe, reliable, affordable, and efficient mass transpo system is good for everyone!

"Hindi lahat, may kakayahan magpasundo. And even then, it's ultimately a waste of resources: fuel, time, energy, manpower, money. "Diskarte" is not a feature of good public transportation. Ang totoo, patunay nga yan na may problema, ginagawan lang natin ng paraan. Resilient eh.

"Halimbawa, ilan sa mga kasama kong nahirapang sumakay sa airport noon, mga banyagang bisita. Paano kung wala silang kakilala sa Maynila? O wala silang internet para magbook ng sasakyan? We need to provide sensible options for everyone, especially if we want to promote tourism.

"True, a spike in demand can overwhelm the best mass transportation systems. But certain surges are predictable, which means solutions are within reach. Christmas comes along every year, and Friday congestion happens, well, every Friday. Kasama sa pinagpa-planuhan yun.

"Siyempre pa, hindi naman palaging ganito ang sitwasyon sa airport. Kung hindi mo pa ito nararanasan, edi mabuti. Happy for you beh, hehe. Excited na rin ako sa mga plano, kagaya ng pangakong tren na may istasyon daw sa paliparan. Sana matuloy.

"Still, this is a now problem, requiring immediate attention. And yes, it's a challenge not just for the airport, but the entire country too. A good public transportation system is pro-people, and essential for development.

"Thanks for coming to my TED talk!"

Related Tags

TRANSPORT SYSTEM Atom Araullo Twitter
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