The Joys of Online and Mobile Travel Booking (and hardships of buying tickets in the past)

Today, it will be very hard to make young people comprehend the complexity and hardship of buying travel tickets . And surprise…..the situation was not eons ago. That hardship season was prevalent only about 10 years past, and still in some cases, as recent as two years ago. Actually, I believe that it still happens in some parts of the Philippines.

Imagine these scenarios if you’re travelling to any destination in the Philippines (or abroad). Brace yourself….

Buying a plane ticket.
Flying to some province. It was only Philippine Airlines that dominated the air until the early 2000’s. Some smaller companies went up and pfffted from time to time.

First, you have to CALL the landline of PAL waayyyy in advance to book your flight. The usual stuff will happen - dial, wait, listen to recorded voice, wait, then finally talk to a booking employee.
Second, go to a ticketing office of PAL sparsely located in the metropolis. Wait in line for an hour or half a day, then pay.

What happens when you have to change your travel? Repeat the process - call, go to a branch… allot at least a day.

Of course, there were the travel agencies that can help you score a plane ticket without going thru the hassle and there were already hundreds of them that were concentrated in major cities.

Now, you have an increasing number of online and mobile companies like Trip.com, Travelocity and Kayak where with a flick of your thumb on your cell phone, you can easily check flights, book, then pay. All in probably four minutes! Not 2 days compared to the old system.

Buying a ferry ticket

Who travels by ship in the Philippines nowadays? Nobody? But in the past, probably 90% of Pinoy travellers between Luzon and the Visayas and Mindanao had done it by riding on floating metals that travelled 18-36 hours from Manila to some ports down south.

It was a nightmare. Uhmmm… that’s too negative. It was an accepted hardship.
There was no way to call and buy tickets (until the so-called super ferry ships came in the ‘90s). Somebody had to go to the port area, line up (under the heat), and buy tickets.

Of course, you had the option not to buy tickets in advance and risk it to be a chance passenger, or the so-called carton-section passenger. You don’t have a bed nor a seat. You buy instead a re-purposed carton and find a place anywhere (ANYWHERE!) you can spread your “bed” which can be the hallway or beside the comfort room. Yup, ships often leave the port with an over-capacity of passengers. You see, sea travel in the Philippines, was notoriously inadequate and bordering on the standard of floating coffin.

But since travel by sea has severely contracted (or almost died out), not much mind-blowing online ticketing system like 12goasia dominated that part of travel. Sea travel has morphed into safer fast crafts for shorter distance in the Visayas, and the experience of securing tickets has become more convenient.

Screenshot of 12goasia’s booking page.

Buying a bus ticket

Almost similar to buying a ship ticket, only a bit easier. There was no way to make a phone call, though. But since there were very few destinations in the Philippines and bus companies were concentrated to servicing those areas, more buses are available to the passengers. Depending on the destination, say Baguio City, a bus may leave the terminal every 30 minutes or one hour. Passengers can have the option to buy a ticket in advance (again, somebody had to sacrifice his day to line up and buy tickets) or simply line up for the next departing bus.

But for destinations like Sagada or Banaue where only one or two buses would depart per day. Securing tickets way in advance was a necessity. Or you sit squat in the aisle for 9-11 hours.

There are more destinations and buses now that can be used by Pinoy or foreign travellers. Buying a bus ticket can be done much faster than I can count to 20.

Screen capture of 12goasia’s transport ticket site.

It pinches my nerves. All those years of hardships. Days spent for the processes…. now can be done in just a few minutes….. It’s awesome. Nothing but awesome….