December 01, 2006
If you're one of those common Filipino folks like me who have to take a bus on a regular basis, then you might have noticed a sign like this on some of your rides:
For the longest time, I had no idea what "No ticket, no pay" actually meant. It just sounds wrong. I mean, shouldn't it be the other way around? The direction of the implication is wrong. It should be "No pay, no ticket", or in other words, "Passengers must pay in order to get a ticket". I've always assumed that this was another one of those signs with funny bastardized English that tourists love to snicker at and take pictures of. (To be fair though, the English signs in the Philippines are much better compared to the ones you find in non-English-speaking countries.) I imagine that it all started with one bus company and the others just followed suit.
In a moment of inspiration, while I was buying food for take-out at Jollibee, I finally figured it out. One of the signs by the cashier went something like "Do not pay unless you are given a receipt". Then it struck me: the bus ticket is actually a receipt.
The sign "No ticket, no pay" isn't telling the passenger that you can't get a ticket to ride unless you pay. What it actually means is that you don't have to pay if the conductor doesn't give you a ticket/receipt. The sign is standing up for your rights as a passenger and as a consumer!
(Please don't tell me that I'm the only one who doesn't know about this.)
For the longest time, I had no idea what "No ticket, no pay" actually meant. It just sounds wrong. I mean, shouldn't it be the other way around? The direction of the implication is wrong. It should be "No pay, no ticket", or in other words, "Passengers must pay in order to get a ticket". I've always assumed that this was another one of those signs with funny bastardized English that tourists love to snicker at and take pictures of. (To be fair though, the English signs in the Philippines are much better compared to the ones you find in non-English-speaking countries.) I imagine that it all started with one bus company and the others just followed suit.In a moment of inspiration, while I was buying food for take-out at Jollibee, I finally figured it out. One of the signs by the cashier went something like "Do not pay unless you are given a receipt". Then it struck me: the bus ticket is actually a receipt.
The sign "No ticket, no pay" isn't telling the passenger that you can't get a ticket to ride unless you pay. What it actually means is that you don't have to pay if the conductor doesn't give you a ticket/receipt. The sign is standing up for your rights as a passenger and as a consumer!
(Please don't tell me that I'm the only one who doesn't know about this.)
