A VICTORY TRIP: Deluxe by

Chance and a Frustrated Discount

Attempt
- By Armztrong
It has been a year or two since the last time Ive gone on board a bus going to
Manila. This time, I had the chance to travel again. The reason? I wont tell you.
But I love to tell you my observations while I was on board that Victory Liner Bus.
Me and my comrade have decided to stay in the chance passenger section for the
Deluxe bus which was going to depart from Baguio at 1:10am of Saturday last
week.
20 MINUTES LATE? THE CHANCE PASSENGER HAS A CHANCE
A Chance Passenger refers to those who have no ticket but want to travel on time,
or to those who have a ticket but want to travel earlier than what was indicated in
the ticket. While we were waiting for the crew to call us, I have noticed a sign
board which tells that if the person who booked a ticket did not arrive 20
MINUTES BEFORE the scheduled departure time, the reserved seat will be given
to a chance passenger. Once I read that notice, I checked my time. Its already 10
minutes before the departure, why does the crew isnt calling us yet? It is clear
that the reserved seat should be given to the chance passenger because the
remaining time is already within the 20 minutes ultimatum.
I went to the driver together with the stewardess who were standing beside the
bus door, I asked them Can we enter now? We only have 10 minutes before the
departure. The driver replied in the negative and said, No, not yet. Well call you
later. What? I stepped back without any discourse about the 20-minute notice.
Thanks to my life experience. I have learned to wait patiently. What came to my
mind sounds like, Do these crew aware of the notice about the 20-minute late? Did
the management made some diligence to orient every bus crew? Or do the crew choose
to defy the policy? I dont know. Despite the negative response of the driver, we
patiently waited. Until finally, they were calling us.
THE RESERVED FRONT SEAT PRIVILEGE
Upon entering the bus, of course, we had the privilege to choose a seat, a vacant
seat. The most convenient seats we chose were located in front, just behind the
drivers seat. We felt very much special because we thought that the seats were
really reserved especially for us. It was like a VIP reservation. That feeling has
expired when we saw a sticker telling us that the seat should be intendedly
vacated for the benefit of the elderly and disabled persons. Oh no. I thought we
were so special. Anyway, were already positioned so we tried to self-ease the
guilt. Yeah, the seats were vacant, no disabled, no elderly. So its justified that
said seats were reserved for us by chance.

THE STUDENT DISCOUNT ATTEMPT

The Victory trip has begun! A few minutes later, the beautiful stewardess came
asking for the payment of fare. Seven fifty she said. I told her that Im a student,
then I gave her my SLU ID. Expecting that she will give me discount, instead she
took my ID and reiterated, seven fifty each. Eh, no discount? Whats the point of
getting my ID when she couldnt provide me a discount?
Nevertheless, we gave the payment. But she did not return my ID and went back
to her station. See that? She took my ID but did not give me a discount. I still
hope that she might compute the 20% discount since she did not gave us the
ticket yet. Few moments later, I saw my ID in her smart phone. I leaned my head
towards her position to confirm whether it was a photo of my ID. Oh yes, it was! I
saw it was uploaded in a chat box. There, I began to feel uneasy! Because the
truth is, I am not currently enrolled. A lot of questions came into mind. Did she
sent the photo of my ID to someone she knows who was working in SLU to confirm my
existence as a student? But its already an hour past midnight. Not an office hour.
Is she a Louisian and noticed that am a Law Student then sent a photo to her friend out
of excitement? or Do I look so good in that ID that she got a crush on me then proudly
sent a photo of my ID to her friend? No, no, no. I am just too assuming in this case.
There is this question in mind that we got a discussion with my comrade, What if
she will know that I am not truly enrolled. In short, not a student! For the sake of an
academic conversation, I jokingly asked my comrade, what is the crime
committed? He laughed and availed no answer. I had a follow up question, What
if she will file a case against me? Can I just do a bargaining before she does that? Can
I ask her to just file the crime of last resort, the Crime of Unjust Vexation?
Although, it will not happen, I still started to formulate my justification while
quietly and relaxingly seated watching the road.
Heres my justification, There is no crime committed. I am a student and it just
happened that I am not currently enrolled. Learning never stops, and I am always a
student. Well there is no legal basis about that. I dont know about the definition
of a Student under the law on Student Discount Privilege. But somehow, and
perhaps my categorization of a Student is true. By the way, my ID has no
expiration. SLU IDs are so-called Perpetual ID.

WHATS NEW WITH THE SYSTEM?

As I continue to enjoy my deluxe experience, I have noticed some gadgets in front
which I never seen on board before.
The Speedometer on Top:
I saw a digital counter right overhead of the driver. The number increases and
decreases randomly. Whats that? Is it temperature? Is it time? No! So I
continued my observation for a little while. I knew it, it was a gadget showing the
speed of the bus! Yes, I have confirmed because when we pass through a sharp
curved road, the number gets lower, meaning the bus gets slower. Okay. Problem
solved. But whats the use? The driver cant even see it. Is it for the passenger to
know the speed and then remind the driver everytime the bus gets furious? I
dont know!
Then there, TPLEX! It was my first time then, so I refused to take a sleep but to
continue my wild imaginations while traversing the new expressway. The answer
to my question earlier was finally answered when I heard a beep in front. I tried
to look where the beep came from. I waited for the sound to resurrect. Oh, I see
it! It was coming from the digital speedometer. There, the beep arises everytime
the number turns 95 or more. I realized that the gadget serves as a warning to the
driver. The recommended speed may be 95 kilometer per hour. Its a good thing.
Maybe for safety purposes. To avoid over speeding.
The Video Camera On Board:
There is this another gadget located on the windshield. I started to observe whats
the use of that thing? It captures the road while it displays the video to the screen
of the gadget. So what? I started to theorize. Maybe it works like a Black Box.
Maybe it records a video so that when there is an accident, it helps any
investigation showing how the tragedy occurred. Or when there is a collision, it
helps to show which car should have the last clear chance. Which car is negligent.
Maybe. Yeah.
VICTORY TRIP, INDEED
In the history of my travel experience to Manila, the minimum travel time was 6
hours. But my Deluxe experience was a victory! After having thinking aloud a lot,
I fell asleep in the middle of the expressway. The moment I woke up, I saw
familiar sign boards! This is Araneta center approaching the Victory Liner
terminal. Weve almost arrived! I checked the time. Really? The travel was 4
hours.
Meanwhile, before we leave the bus, I was waiting for the beautiful stewardess to
return my ID but she was busy at the back. I was shy to get it personally, so I
asked my friend to get my ID together with the ticket.

It was really my first time to travel Baguio-Manila for only for 4 hours. The
problem was, it was too early. It was 5 oclock in the morning but the office that
we intended to visit opens at 8 oclock in the morning. So we attempted to check-
in in the Grand Prix hotel just beside the terminal. It was full! The receptionist
suggested we can wait till 6am. No, its useless so we decided to take a taxi bound
towards Novaliches, Quezon City. And thats the end of our Victory trip.