EDITORIAL - Daily glitches

Will there ever be an end to the woes of light railway commuters? The other day, Metro Rail Transit commuters were seen walking along the rails between the Ayala and Buendia stations after a defective train stopped at Shaw Boulevard and blocked the path of other MRT trains during the morning rush hour. A broken rail between the Cubao and Santolan stations reportedly limited MRT operations to the Taft Avenue station in Pasay City to Shaw Boulevard. And at the Magallanes station in Makati, operations were suspended also during the morning rush hour reportedly due to operational glitches.

Yesterday, again during the morning rush hour, southbound commuters were told to get off at the Santolan station reportedly due to low power supply. About three hours later, commuters were again told to get off at the Cubao station due to a technical problem.

The MRT has become a symbol of gross government inefficiency, with corruption scandals implicating the administration party thrown in. President Aquino should be furious that not a week passes without service disruption in a mass transportation system that is immensely popular when it is working without glitches. Instead the President has not commented on the problems and his administration prefers to crow about the introduction of “beep cards” for the Light Rail Transit.

The launch of the beep cards is indeed a welcome development, although similar card systems have been the norm for decades in many countries where there are subways and overhead commuter railway services. And the beep cards are useless if the railway service keeps breaking down.

Railway glitches affect millions of President Aquino’s “bosses” and discourage people from leaving their cars at home for mass transportation. Commuters are waiting for the President to demand an explanation – and better performance – from railway operators and his team in the Department of Transportation and Communications. Several government officials have been sacked for less.