Manila: 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 three-kilometre 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. "I use my feet, my gasoline is my sweat," said Ryan Dejucodes, 28.
A ride costs five pesos, much cheaper than open-sided jeepneys, smoke-belching buses, rickety taxis or the limited commuter train service. Dejucodes earns up to 200 pesos (Dh15.73) a day, barely enough to feed his family and afford his small luxuries: cigarettes and a bottle of beverage.
Ruben Tiopes, a university student, said the slow ride still gets him to school faster than a circuitous ride in a jeepney. He does not mind travelling al fresco on the bare-bones trolley.
"You can feel the wind, it's not hot. It's a big help because I save on money."
