The Livable Blog

21st Century 3rd World Trolleys

12/27/08

08:24:55 pm, by NicS, 187 words

Categories: Transportation, Humour

21st Century 3rd World Trolleys

I came upon this article and it made me wonder if there might be something for us in the West to learn from this 3rd world adaptation? Afterall, we have rails that might be put to better use too.

Cheap Seats, Danger Meet On Illegal Manila Trolleys

Mode works OK until unscheduled train comes along

By AARON FAVILA
Associated Press

A boy walks in the rain alongside the railway in Manila, Philippines, as a trolley rolls by. Although illegal, the trolley service is ignored by authorities.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The illegal trolley ride along Manila's railway is dangerous. But it has an irresistible draw amid hard times: It's cheap and doesn't use oil.

For years, dozens of desperate men in Manila's working-class district of Pandacan have used a two-mile stretch of state-owned rail that cuts through the congested community to ply their dangerous trade.

When no chugging trains are in sight, they sneak their eight-seat trolleys — small, metal-wheeled carts with benches fashioned from scrap wood — on the railway to ferry students, office workers and even policemen on short trips within Pandacan.

The power comes from brute strength.

/snip

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