Metro Madrid le informa....STRIKE!

Right outside Atocha Renfe Train Station

On my way to work last week, the EMT, public transportation of Madrid, was handing out little blue booklets titled, "Muévete major en el autobus, Viajar en los autobuses de la EMT."  I knew something was up as I can not fathom who on earth needs instructions on how to get on the bus, what to do while on the bus, and how to get off the bus and mind you, I was coming up the stairs from the local trains. 

Pamphlet on how to get on and off the bus
which includes how to behave on the bus

Metro Strike! The strike started yesterday and according to El Mundo, it is going to continue.  The article gives no specific termination date which in Spain that means indefinitely.  The metro workers are government employees and to help with the Spanish deficit, all government employees are going to have their salaries lowered by 5% as of January 2011.  The metro workers are protesting such decrease and the Canarian in my office comments, "Lo que me da rabia, es que van a bajar los salarios de todos los funcionarios y los trabajadores de Metro parece que son los únicos que pueden provocar problemas por eso a todos lo demás."  She essentially has stated that it bothers her that the metro workers are the only ones that can cause problems due to the salary decrease.  I tend to agree with Mauricio who claims that he would make a "nueva plantilla" (an entire new staff) as currently, Spain has an unemployment rate of 20% and surely there are enough people out there who would be delighted to have a job.

A metro strike happens almost every year, I should be used to it by now.  The underground workers always seem to be able to complain about something.  Strikes in Spain are a nightmare; it is the time when you see Spain at its' finest.   The day starts out with traffic that doesn't move, no taxi in sight, and having to queue for at least 15 minutes to cram yourself into an overstuffed bus where you find that you have an unknown man's penis pressing on your thigh, a woman's arm flattening your boob, and something that you hope is a bag pressing on your ass.  To add to the flavor of being stuffed into a sardine can, there is the typical man, yelling his complaint about how the strike is not legal to the entire bus.

I get my daily routine interrupted by the transport strikes which makes me extremely exhausted and gives me anxiety.  A trip to work that normally takes me about 15 minutes can extend into an hour and forty minute bus ride, packed with people, and then a ten minute walk.  Due to lack of metro services, the crowded sidewalks are enough to give you claustrophobia. 

"Nunca me ha dado cuenta de la cantidad de gente que usa el metro, como la gente está bajo tierra,"  The Canarian commented that she never realized just how many people used the metro because you don't see anybody because they are all underground.   

El Mundo states that 2 million people in the Community of Madrid have had to figure out alternative ways to get to work.  Luckily, the local trains and buses are still circulating but they are over-crowded and even still, the metro seems to be door to door where the others have their routes and often don't leave you right by the door.  A friend from Finland had to walk an hour to work yesterday, mind you it is hot out and arriving to work sweaty is not always pleasant.

The public transport in Madrid is usually quite exceptional, a traveler can basically get anywhere in the City by Metro or bus quite easily.  Somebody once told me that the Metro was designed so that you could get from point A to your destination without having to change more than 2 trains; so far that has been my experience.  I am the queen of the public transport.  I have even taken the metro to a wedding!  A monthly pass, abono de transporte, cost a mere 46 Euro which if compared to New York, is a bargain.  Basically, I can travel anywhere in Zone A as much as I like via buses, metro, local trains (cercanías).  I must say, on lazy or hot days, I love my abono as I will take the metro or the bus only a couple of stops.

The Metro designed a new map in 2007 and it resembles London's Tube map.  I find the map awful and illegible.  I have the worst sense of direction and the new linear design has made it worse so I use the maps that I saved from previous years.  My old, tattered maps don't have all of the new lines on it but I figure if I have to travel out of Zone A, I better be in a car.

Section of the OLD map

When I was a student at NYU, I was obsessed with writing an article about the metro experience.  My brilliant idea was to spend an entire day riding the Gray Line, Line 6, the Circular.  Spaniards generally refer to the line number where I usually associate the different metro lines by color.  I think that the Circular is the worst line ever, along with the Green line, Line 5.  The Circular trains make you feel like you have gone back to the 50s as they are cumbersome and outdated.  You can find all types of people on the Circular as the line just travels round and round and round Madrid.  So my obsession with the Circular just kept growing as I find people fascinating.  It seemed as though this one crazy lady would always travel at the same time I did and boy did she make my day.  I called her the "Pink Fairy" as she always dressed different shades of pink and a tiara with missing plastic jems.  She didn't really look like a fairy as her over-bleached teased hair was dirty, she caked hot pink make-up all over her face and the pink clothes were soiled but without fail, she always wore the tiara.  The first time I saw the Pink Fairy, I looked around for a hidden camera after she got out of the wagon.  She got on the train in her big pink outfit and the tiara with a ton of plastic bags, started singing, sat down in a seat and started opening up cans of tuna and eating the tuna with her fingers.  It was totally nasty and yet totally fascinating.  I remember the next time I was riding on the Circular and she entered, the shocked look on the others faces was priceless.  I haven't seen the Pink Fairy in years as I have tried to avoid the Circular but I remember her with a smile on my face.

Like I said before, normally, the Metro is great.  I only hope that the strikers resolve their issues so I can get on with my routine and keep claiming that the metro in Madrid is really great.  If they can't resolve their issues, I hope that the government will insist on having the military drive the trains as they did in January 1976 according to El Pais or that the the strikers are replaced by more willing employees.