The long way to class: students rethink the daily commute

Between the first jeepney ride and the last walk to campus, students are counting what the commute really costs them.

By Bea Reyes19 Oct 2026 · 7 min read

NEWS · LEAD PHOTO Badge

Caption and photo credit go here. Photo by the Photo Desk.

At 5:40 in the morning, the notebook in Lia's bag is still closed. Before she can open it in class, she has to walk to the main road, wait for a jeepney and make one more transfer. The distance looks short on a map. The journey feels different on the pavement.

Lia is a composite character for this sample, but the question behind her trip is real for many campuses: what does it take to arrive ready to learn? A week of travel diaries tells part of the answer.

The costs a fare cannot capture

A fare is the easiest part of a commute to count. Harder to see is the price of leaving early to absorb an uncertain wait, or paying more for a ride because a laboratory session cannot be missed.

The route has not changed. The room left in her day has.

For students balancing classes with part-time work or family duties, that uncertainty narrows an already tight schedule.

TECHNIQUE USED IN THIS STORY

A composite character helps readers follow a pattern without exposing one student's real route. Newsrooms label it clearly, as this story does.

React:

Bea Reyes

Writes for the News desk. See the team →

COMMENTS

Comments are reviewed by Circulation before they appear.

A Grade 11 reader

This made me look at my own route differently.

Anonymous

KEEP READING

When the library closes before the studying ends

By Migs Dela Cruz · 18 Oct 2026

PHOTO

NEWS · CANTEEN

What a hundred pesos buys at the campus canteen

By Bea Reyes · 17 Oct 2026

PHOTO

NEWS · AFTER THE STORM

After the rain, a closer look at the paths we share

By Ana Villanueva · 16 Oct 2026