Mad-Mla 4: Metro and Unlimited rides

Being a pedestrian is no fun without help—and I got big servings of it in Madrid. Part of my daily adventure was to ride the underground rail transit, or the Metro, with its 13 octopus lines, literally making every nook and cranny of the city accessible to the everyday pedestrian.

Metro stops per line were also everywhere, so I was confident enough to roam the streets in the first few days without a map—all I needed to remember was the stop nearest my flat, and I’d always find my way home.

One of my most treasured tangibles was the abono transportes which allowed me to exploit the Metro and buses with unlimited rides for one month. This gave me a freehand in my daily route—when pressed for time, I’d take the shortest stops and hop on a bus from the Metro right up to my building (usually just a five-minute walk); sometimes I’d feel like a detour and get off at a random stop, explore the bus route from there or when there’s none, walk the rest of the way; once I even sat on a bus for a whole cycle (of course I didn’t mind my watch and ended up missing class).

My daily commute depended on my mood—underground for peace and quiet, bus for scenic and interactive (also more traffic). I remember one aha moment one morning—I was cramming an essay for lit class, and I caught myself translating onto the page what I was seeing outside my bus window. Exactly how Eminem did it in 8-mile—raw, spontaneous “footage” of everyday life. Beautiful.

Certainly very different from what I was used to in Manila: driving through traffic day in, day out. Sometimes, on the way home, a pity-me yawn at Mom would land me the passenger seat, and I’d get to sleep off another hour in the car, but that was as varied as my daily adventures here could get. Sanitized daily travel, no inspiring interaction with the world outside.

Recently, though, I’ve gone up the pedestrian ladder, and have graduated to MRT-LRT user status. Despite the violation of personal space and occasional sweaty neighbor, I’ve found it actually enjoyable to fast-climb steep stairs and run after the train’s warning bell to get to work on time. My Madrid habit of looking at other passengers’ shoes to pass the time hasn’t caught on here, but only because there’s more to see outside—lucky us, our trains are above ground. Twice I’ve wanted to step out of the moving car (that’s what they’re called, right?) in Taft just to take a shot of an old Manila sunset.

A friend shared with me the secret of the Stored Value card (worth P100, with the remainder peso value, even at one peso, equivalent to one last ride) to avoid long lines at the ticket booths, but I think not a lot know about the Flash Pass or Weekly Unlimited card, at P250, valid in all three lines: MRT, LRT1 & 2. Can be bought only at MRT stations.

It’s still not as comprehensive as the Madrid abono, but it’s a start. Maybe it can even spur transportation tourism—exploration of the city using the different MRT/LRT stops as landmarks or reference points. A friend has done actual research on this; will write about it in a future post.

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MRT

MRT passenger info
5:30 AM 10:30 PM (Monday to Sunday)

LRT1&2

LRT passenger info

LRT Line 1 System
Monday to Sunday:
5:00AM First train leaves the Baclaran Station bound for Monumento.
9:00PM Last northbound commercial train leaves Baclaran Station for Monumento.
9:30PM Last southbound commercial train leaves Monumento Station for Baclaran.

MRT Line 2 System
Monday to Friday:
5:00AM Start of operation.
10:00PM End of operation.

Weekend:
6:00AM Start of operation.
8:00PM End of operation.

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More about the MRT plans for expansion as taken from this commentary on Mass Transit in Manila.
More about the Madrid Transport Information System.

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Other posts on Madrid-Manila:
Mad-Mla9: Relearning Spanish
Mad-Mla7: Finding Travel Buddies
Mad-Mla 6: Of Diplomats and Art
Mad-Mla 5: The English Language
Mad-Mla 3: Painting Club!
Mad-Mla 2: Pedestrian Life
Mad-Mla 1: Introduction