A train station in Metro Manila has been included on the list of the most stressful stations in Asia and Oceania in 2021.
The list came from a survey covering train systems operating in major cities across the world. It was published at Fleet Logging, a fleet tracker in the United States, in August 2021.
A geography expert named Simon Kuestenmacher brought it up on his Twitter account on July 8. He attached an infographic that highlighted the train stations in Asia and Oceania.
“Map shows the most stressful train stations across Asia and Oceania. The rating relies on analyzing Google reviews of all train stations. The source features maps for all parts of the globe,” his tweet reads.
Map shows the most stressful train stations across Asia and Oceania. The rating relies on analysing Google reviews of all train stations. The source features maps for all parts of the globe. Source: https://t.co/nCCt84r5r5 pic.twitter.com/UBROhlNhND
— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) July 8, 2023
In the infographic, Vito Cruz Station of LRT-1 along Taft Avenue in Manila received 27.3% reviews from stressed commuters.
It was the only train station in the Philippines that landed on this survey.
The most stressful station goes to Harbin Station in China with 76.9% “stressed” reviews, while the least stressful is a station in South Hamgyong Province in North Korea.
Fleet Logging collated the reviews from Google Maps. The stress levels in them were measured and analyzed using an academic tool called TensiStrength.
Simon’s tweet, meanwhile, caught the attention of several Filipino commuters on the platform.
In the quotes of Simon’s post, they mentioned other train stations in Manila they deemed were “more stressful” than that in Vito Cruz, Malate, Manila.
“MRT Taft, Ayala, Shaw >>>>>>>>> Vito Cruz,” meteorologist Ariel Rojas said on Twitter.
“Mt. Shaw and Mt. Kamuning and Ortigas station is shaking,” another Filipino commuter tweeted.
“MRT Ayala, Shaw and Ortigas stations are much worse,” another Twitter user said.
Four train systems ferry passengers across cities in the region. These are the LRT-1, LRT-2, MRT-3 and the Philippine National Railways (PNR).
Other stressful train stations
Based on Fleet Logging’s website, the top ten most stressful train stations in Asia and Oceania are:
- Harbin Station in China
- Mile End Station in Australia
- Sala Thammasop in Thailand
- Kalyan Junction in India
- Avondale Road in New Zealand
- Buthgamuwa in Sri Lanka
- Bhila Hithar in Pakistan
- Ikebukuro in Japan
- Sindangresmi in Indonesia
- Jurong East in Singapore
Uručča (Minsk, Belarus) and Praha-Čakovice (Prague, Czechia) are touted as the world’s most stressful stations. They received a 100% stress rate from Google Maps.
On the website, Fleet Logging said that it created this index to serve as a guide to commuters and workers on their travels amid the waning COVID-19 lockdowns at that time.
“With the lockdown coming to an end, many of us are more stressed about the return to public transport than the office itself. Face it, the walk from the kitchen to the sofa was a pretty sweet commute,” the website read.
“Looking for a calmer way to work? Following our guide to the cities where traffic causes the most stress, FleetLogging used TensiStrength (an academic tool that measures the stress levels of text) to assess which train stations and metro lines have the biggest percentage of stressed reviews on Google Maps,” it added.
In a similar list, which was also released in the same year, Manila also landed on the list of the most stressful cities in the world.
A German well-being brand named VAAY surveyed ranked cities across the world in terms of their well-being to produce their study called “100 Least and Most Stressful Cities for 2021.”
Manila was placed at the 98th spot, which was at the lower end of the spectrum.
READ: Manila among world’s most stressful cities, says 2021 study