Jeepney Chronicles

Other than the more obvious “so cops/people in general can see what’s going on inside a bus say, if there’s a hold-up or hostage situation going on,” public utility buses shouldn’t have curtains. I say screw the sunlight, I just don’t want anyone else to experience this scenario (and blog about it) ever again.

It was a drizzly Friday evening, I boarded a bus headed home after going on a post-school date somewhere in Pasig. Since rainy days meant lesser seats and traffic, I considered myself quite fortunate for spotting an empty seat by the back row which would allow me some privacy (no one wants to be seated at the back voluntarily) and the chance to doze off until we get to my stop.

While I wasn’t able to fall asleep, I started noticing this person two rows in front “shaking”  in his seat as the bus went along its route and people were alighting–nothing strange really, save for the guy with the shakes.

By the time we got to the Makati area (read: rush hour traffic that would turn a thirty minute trip into two hours of smelly yuppy hell), “Mr. Shakes” got off the bus, and people started coming in at waves (again, a usual scenario in the Makati area from 6pm to 8pm).

Everything was going smoothly, I forgot about “Mr. Shakes” because, well, he wasn’t shaking anymore when he stood up and left the bus–just looked a little pale.

And then a horrified woman’s shriek filled the bus.

She was seated where “Mr. Shakes” was. She stood up, caused her two other seatmates to stand up as well, and cursed at the heavens while begging for some tissue paper, alcogel and what not. She was doing this while flinging her left arm wildly inside the bus.

Then I saw it. Liquid goo hanging on her elbow and parts of the curtain.

The conductor, alarmed (the bus came to a halt with the woman’s scream) rushed to her side and said “ay puta may nagbati man dine sa silya!”

The woman got off (no pun intended) the bus quickly, some people talked about it while everyone laughed it off. The conductor simply folded the curtain and stuck it up by the handle bars before tying it into a knot.

I never sat by the window side on buses with curtains ever again.