Alternate commuting routes. - Ortigas to Las Piñas
Its been 3 years or so since I started working in the Ortigas Area.
During that time, Ive tried different routes to break the monotony of my commute. Taking a taxi from my place to my office costs around 300+ one way, very impractical.
My normal route would be taking a jeep running the Baclaran Coastal trip from the Casimiro intersection and taking a regular bus from Baclaran to Guadix ( a street before the Ortigas flyover). This the cheapest way to get the office, around 36 pesos one way, but I only do this if my shift is in the late evening or early morning. Its not advisable during peak hours as being stuck in EDSA traffic on a regular bus during noontime is probably close to what a ham feels when its being smoked and cured. Taking an aircon bus is a test of patience as a 20 minute ride ends up being an hour long. I have seen a violent incident occur because of slow aircon buses. More on that next time.
The route I'm most comfortable with going home would be taking the MRT from Ortigas, transferring to the LRT at the Pasay Rotonda area, going down at the Buendia LRT Station, then taking the aircon buses that run the Southmall Lawton trip. Its somewhat roundabout but the main advantage is the ease at getting on a comfortable aircon bus at Buendia. These buses are usually packed once they reach Baclaran. Cost is around 49 for a one way trip (mrt 12 +Lrt 10 + 27 aircon bus).
Fastest routes : Baclaran Coastal jeep from Casimiro to Baclaran, a jeep to
the MRT Station, ride the MRT to Ortigas. It takes less than an hour usually, though its not a very comfortable ride. I take this route if I'm on the morning or afternoon shift. Cost is around 38 pesos ( 18 jeep + 8 jeep +12 MRT).
If I have to meet with my SO at the ATC, the fastest way would be to take the MRT at Ortigas, go down the Magallanes Station and take a bus to Alabang (make sure its says Derecho and Skyway for the quickest rides). Once you reach Alabang there are 2 jeep terminals that have the jeeps going to the Alabang Town Center. 1st Terminal is in near the Alabang public market, the other one is on the Alabang Zapote road just pass the South station commercial areas. Festival Mall is just a short walk from both terminals. Cost is around 52 pesos one way (12 MRT + 30 Bus + 8 jeep).
The routes I mentioned are what I take most of the time, if you have a need to travel to any places near the landmarks I've mentioned (Casimiro intersection, Southmall, ATC, Festival mall) you can follow these for your initial leg of the trip.
There are Fx and Van terminals along these which I take quite often, the only problem is that they're usually available only during early and late morning and late afternoon to early evening. They pattern their operations to office worker's schedules. There is one in Makati at the Landmark and near SM Makati, theres one at Metropoint at Pasay Rotonda, Megamall also and Starmall at Crossing. MOA has the most spacious FX/Van Terminals I've seen so far. But dont' plan on riding these if its still office hours (10am to 3am) they don't usually have trips at these times.
TC All, and keep your wits about you all the time.
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