"Mama, pasakay po?"

It is part of my personal advocacy to promote commuting as a way to 1) save money and 2) contribute to a greener Mother Earth minus one carbon imprint. And over my regular commute routine, I thought of some more tips which may come in very, very hand when you decide to commute around Metro Manila…

Prepare loose change.

Do keep the change

And why is it important to keep and prepare the loose change? Because commuting around Metro Manila will REQUIRE change. Minimum fare for the different modes of transportation is as follows (Kindly confeeerm if these have increased or not):

• Tricycle – Php 4.00
• Jeep – Php 7.00
• Bus – Php 11.00
• MRT – LRT – Php 10.00
• FX – Php 12.00

Mejo naiinis lang kc talaga ako sa mga taong bumubunot ng Php 500. Haller! If you know you’re commuting, break your big bills like Php 500 or Php 1,000 at the nearest convenience store or bank before getting on your favorite commute transpo. It will surely save you and the driver from the hassle and the possible headache.

Keep your tickets.

Don't loose your tickets!

I used to throw away my bus tickets once Mamang / Manang Conductor hands them over after I pay.

But the other day, the bus I took stalled (due to engine trouble) and we needed to transfer to another bus. So as proof that we were paid passengers of the stalled bus, we had to show our bus tickets to the other properly functioning bus. Thank God I didn’t throw mine away! I could have spent an additional Php 11.00 if I did not have my bus tickets on me. WHEW!

Therefore, keep the tickets on you! You’ll never know when you’d encounter something like that.

Any more commute friendly tips you can share?

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

Photo from www.philippines-travel-guide.com

Last week I was meeting up with someone in Power Plant Rockwell Mall. And again because I am Ms. I Commute, I did commute.

I actually already have an established route from home to Rockwell which I discovered recently and I am sharing this with you. This route jumps off from the Ortigas Center so follow these easy steps to get to Rockwell Mall in Makati…

#1 From the POEA office or Starmall, take any bus along EDSA.Like the bus below:

Any bus since all buses pass through Estrella, Makati. If you’re not sure, just ask the bus driver or conductor if they can drop you off Estrella. The bus ticket will cost you Php 11. Tama ba?

#2 Get off Estrella Makati. Estrella is the bus stop past the Guadalupe bus stop. Watch out for the overpass and the Rockwell billboards.

#3 walk to the Rockwell Shuttle Station. And enter the gate like so…

Rockwell Shuttle Station entrance

#4 Pay for your Rockwell shuttle ticket before alighting the shuttle. Tickets cost only Php 5.

Apologies for the shaky photo :c

#5 Ride the shuttle and then get off at the last stop right in front of the Rockwell Powerplant Mall.

Total damage for the trip = Php 16  Ayos ba?

I have yet to share my commute trip from Rockwell back to Ortigas next time Enjoy the ride!

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

Take me there, I wanna go there...(Photo c/o Wikipedia)

Two weeks ago (okay sorry for the lateness) I flew out to Cebu to join the Sinulog festival. And I wondered and researched for a new and more cost efficient way to get me to NAIA Terminal 3 from Rizal. I did not want to take my usual route: take a shuttle to Ayala, Makati and then take the cab to NAIA Terminal 3, which cost me around Php 150++.

I was so happy with my new discovery which only cost me Php 65!

Oh just a very quick and important note. The bus which will take you to the NAIA Terminal 3 has a schedule. So you may use this route if and only if your flight will fit the bus schedule The bus schedule is as follows: 6AM to 8AM and 5PM to 7PM. I was just so glad my sched did fit the bus scheds

So here is the step-by-step guide on how to get to NAIA Terminal 3 for only Php 65…

STEP 1A: Take the an FX shuttle going to any of the ff routes: Crossing / Megamall / Robinson’s or Ayala C5. Then ask the driver to drop you off the Rosario bridge. This will cost you Php 20.

OR STEP 1B: You can also take the G-Liner / RRCG bus then ask the driver to drop you off the same place, the Rosario bridge. This will also cost you Php 20. Hmmm or maybe less? I couldn’t remember.

STEP 2: At the Rosario bridge, take the jeepney going to Cubao. Pay the driver Php 7 and get off at Citibank / Eastwood.

Total commute damage so far: Php 20 + Php 7 = Php 27

STEP 3: Exercise your legs a little and take a nice short stroll to the City Link Bus shuttle station. The bus station is behind McDonald’s and in front of the Il Pirata Italian restaurant.

Grab a seat and tell the bus conductor (when he issues the bus tickets) that you will be going down at the NAIA Terminal 3, which costs Php 38. Then sit back and relax, watch a movie (The bus has a TV set showing full length movies during the drips) while the bus moves through the C5 traffic to NAIA Terminal 3.

City Link Bus from Eastwood to NAIA Terminal 3 and vice versa (Photo c/o Flickr : Bus A Bus)

And yes the bus will drop you right in front of NAIA Terminal 3. How cool is that right?

So Total commute damage to NAIA Terminal 3: Php 20 + Php 7 + Php 38 = Php 65!!! YEBA!!!!

The other other good thing about it. My flight back to Manila coincided with the bus schedule so I was able to catch the bus going back to Eastwood. And yes, the bus did pick us up right in front of NAIA Terminal 3. COOL talaga!

I am so loving it! I now know 2 commute routes to NAIA Terminal 3: one tipid mode and another not too expensive one. Hehehe.

Would you know of an alternative route I can try the next time I need to get to NAIA Terminal 3?

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais