Apendiks

I’ve been working since 2006, and surprisingly, I am still with the same company I am working with (or for?) four years ago. Ever since I started working for this company, the office is already here at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig which I look as one of the places I am comfortable going to, next to of course, our house (or is it?). The place is wonderful, because there are still a few buildings here and you can appreciate the green grass and clean surroundings. You’ll see less electric posts, because most electrical wires are underneath the roads. Despite the fact that the air I breathe doesn’t smell that good especially if I happen to step over the sewage vents, I still love this place.

One way of getting to Bonifacio Global City is by riding a Fort Bus near MRT Ayala Station. It used to be the only way of getting here, but now I think they already have routes in Ayala Avenue, so going to BGC isn’t that difficult already. I’ve been riding the Fort Bus ever since I started working here, so I thought of sharing some useful information about these giant transportation mechanisms.

1. As of this posting, the fare is still Php11.00. It’s okay to give 20-peso bill or 50 or 100, as long as you give them a peso. Prepare that one-peso coin, before you fall in line. That would ease their work by giving you tens instead of one-peso coins. And consideration-aside, if they didn’t have available one-peso coins to change, you will be delayed. There comes a point where the first passenger in the line was the last one to ride the Fort Bus because there are no available one-peso coins, that the said passenger had to turned her bag upside down just to look for that one-peso coin.
2. Unlike other transport buses, Fort Bus doesn’t have a conductor or inspector roaming inside the bus while it’s in motion. Most of the time the fare is collected before entering the bus so make sure that you prepare the fare ahead of time. Also, even if there are no inspectors, keep the ticket on the duration of your trip, and dispose of the ticket properly.
3. Once the door is closed, it IS closed. There’s no way that door will open unless it’s in another bus stop. If you just arrive at the terminal with your fare ready and the driver already closed the door, he won’t open it again just to let you in, because he knows that if he does, there will be another passenger rushing to the door as well, and another, and another, causing delay to his joyride. Do not attempt to chase the bus and knock the door, they’ll just ignore you.
4. Related to number 3, you’re not the one to choose/decide where you’ll be dropped off. There’s this one case where two gays are flirting with each other and they suddenly shouted “PARA!!!!” when they were already at their destination. But since that’s not the bus stop, the driver just looked at them in the rear view mirror and continued living his life to the fullest. When the two approached the door and told the driver that they will alight the bus, the driver just looked at them as if they were joking. The two doesn’t have the clue of what’s going on so they asked the driver why didn’t he opened the door, and the driver finally answered “wala pong babaan dito”. The two returned to their seats after hearing this.
5. There are currently four routes that Fort Bus services: West Route, East Route, BGC Central and the new Ayala Route. If you don’t know which among these routes should you take to get to your destination, DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK. Asking is not a crime. Pretending that you know everything in a completely uncharted place is.
6. Respect the people in the line waiting for the next bus. There’s this habit where the ones in the tail of the line rushes to the bus because the ones in the front chooses to wait for a new bus (maybe because the current bus is already full), but when the bus already closed its doors, those who didn’t make it would go on the head of the line, pretending that they were already there before anyone else. Don’t do that. Don’t follow suit if you see others doing it.
7. The ones who manages Fort Buses subcontract other bus lines since that’s cheaper than buying new bus units. These contract bus lines, regardless of what route they are, are not allowed to enter BGC through McKinley Road for some reason. They enter BGC through Kalayaan Avenue. Don’t panic if you saw the bus you’re in going to a different direction.

These are just some of the tips that I think would help you survive. These Fort Buses are the only affordable means of getting in and out of BGC. As soon as you get to familiarize yourselves with these buses, you’ll probably enjoy BGC more.

Do you have additional tips in mind that aren’t mentioned above? Let us know!