I hate the Quezon Avenue Station refresh
It's grotesque. This is coming from an avid commuter around QC.
Take the lighting. It's bright. Too bright. The eyes of the modern Filipino commuter are uniquely adjusted for dimly lit stations and tunnels. Hit them with well-powered fluorescents and routines begin to fall apart. The light bouncing off polished floors is no help either. Where's the grime? The dust? I haven't spotted a misplaced wrapper anywhere. That certainly isn't the kind of place I'm familiar with. No, po.
Then the signs. God, the signs. A tenacious yellow with black text that are, by the way, far too easy to read. "Quezon Avenue" Yeah, right. I don't even have to squint to understand where I'm supposed to be headed. How am I supposed to feel the confusion of wondering what station I'm at when a sign screams at me like that?
No, no. You see, MRT stations—like any typical public transport hubs across Metro Manila—aren't supposed to look this way. They should wear their age on their sleeve, like a wrinkled bus seat. It's a badge of Good Utility. Why would such powers disrupt it? I mean, they hardly cared before.
The PH public transport system is already perfect.
The lines are long: perfect for personal reflection in a fast-paced world. The vehicles are congested; how else can you meet your fellow countrymen and women? The seats are filled, which was another clever way to get people standing in a "sitting is the new smoking" kind of world.
The refresh just isn't sitting right with me. To get me on-board with such shenanigans, you'd need to get me to believe that it was within their power all along to make such drastic changes. Get outta here.
I can't believe they let it slip. But I'm just glad to know there are no plans for any other changes soon. I mean, can you imagine if the country had more stations like this? If trains began arriving on time?
If commuters felt taken care of?
Shivers.