The metro is such an integral part of Santiago life. It is the fundamental link between the hustle of the economic city centre and the poorer outskirts of the Santiago periphery. Consequently it is stuffed with those who have no other means of transportation and it is also snubbed by those who have the luxury of being able to afford to drive to work (the metro is seen to be for the poor people and who would want to mix with them, right?).
Yes, the subway/underground/metro is a metaphor for the Santiago mentality. Old women are the worst when it comes to aggression, as it is they who rudely push and shove to their best ability to make it to the empty seat. If they aren’t assertive, no one will stand to offer them a seat; not the middle aged men or the young men, neither will senoritas with their absurdly towering high heels or the kids in their stiff uniforms.
I remember the local community complaining that the students from my high school weren’t giving up their seats on the train. We were all subsequently lectured in school assemblies about behaving more appropriately and honourably in public, especially when representing the school by wearing our uniforms.
Now, every day I am faced with a constant battle for a seat. People will purposely miss the metro and stand right exactly where the doors open onto the platform just so they can get a seat on the next metro. People don't wait for you to get off the metro before they enter or walk to the right or stand to one side on the escalator for that matter. I have never felt like such an etiquette critic in all my life but dealing with thousands of rushing commuters has made me reflect upon what I consider to be respectful. So much for 'love thy neighbour'.
That having been said, the metro is an absolute lifesaver. It is clean, local and extremely frequent. Who said that a developing country couldn’t have great transportation? It puts my native transportation system to shame. Everyone has a BIP card, which they top up with money when needed and swipe it at the booth to enter the platform, paying the same price no matter how far they travel. So yes, there’s NO TICKETS and your card never goes OUT OF DATE!
The metro comes approximately every 5 minutes. During peak hour, they increase the metro flow with express metros, which are colour-coded red and green, and which stop at every second stop depending on the colour of the station. One disadvantage, however, is that it closes at 11pm even on weekends, even though the clubs only open at midnight. There are buses but they aren’t as direct...
A few years ago Transantiago monopolised the transportation system in Santiago. Before, the bus companies used to compete for passengers, racing around the city trying to collect as many passengers as possible before another company did. Even now, with only one company, the drivers have still retained they crazy driving skills, terrifyingly speeding around and hardly stopping to let passengers on and off.
The monopolisation also meant that the bus routes changed, encouraging people to travel by both bus and metro. Most people now just take the metro because it’s easier just to change lines rather than wait for the bus or sit in traffic. You pay one price for the metro and you get to travel by bus for free for the next consecutive two hours. If you take the bus first you have to pay an extra $20 pesos for the metro.
In general I think the metro is great, although the hardest part to really comprehend is the price. They fluctuate depending on the time of day, peak hour obviously being the most expensive at $560 pesos (A$1.20), which might sound cheap to a gringo but actually it doesn't correspond with the average monthly salary at all!
Last year, I worked at an English institute for $200,000 (A$420) pesos before tax a month. If I caught the metro an average of twice a day, including the weekend it would cost me about a quarter of my salary. Then take out the average amount for rent of about $120,000 pesos or so. That would leave me with less than $20,000 (A$42) for food for the month. Now how on earth do people do it when they have a mortgage and three children to feed? And what if they earn less? I just don't know how they survive, I really don't.
No comments:
Post a Comment