Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya responded to the calls for the public officials to ride the MRT (also called as the #MRTchallenge. His verdict: Riding the MRT is pleasant.

Indeed, riding the MRT for Abaya is pleasant because aside from the fanfare and media pa-cute he experienced, there are a number of reasons for riding the rail transit that commuters really failed to appreciate. These are as follows:

1. The bonus. Aside from the bonus ride commuters get when the stored value tickets amount to P3.00, they also get a bonus distance and bonus wounds when trains overshoot the rail track. That is in addition to the bonus time and place that they spent for queuing just to buy tickets and enter the station platform. Ang hirap kayang tumambay na walang tambayan.
2. The physical and mental exercise. Commuters also failed to realize that the MRT is doing them favor by forcing them to walk when the trains stop in mid-stations. Kaya nga bibihira ang mataba sa MRT. And, of course, dahil nagiging bopols na ang mga Pinoy (proof of which is that Philippine universities do not make it to at least the top 20 universities at least in Asia), the MRT is also doing a service by providing a sort of mental exercise. So commuters are forced to become creative in making excuses for being late. As a resut of that exercise, marami ang nakaka-experience ng mental stress.
3. The art of patience. It's a virtue and only MRT teaches that by teaching commuters to stay on queue that they may be able to buy ticktes or get inside the station platform. Kung sa ibang bagay, magtatakbuhan na ang mga commuters na ito lalo na kung sasakay sa bus o tatanggap ng relief goods.
4. The virtue of hoping. Siyempre, kahit late na, hoping pa rin ang mga commuters that the train will arrive at makakasakay sila lalo na sa mga alanganing istasyon gaya ng GMA-Kamuning and Santolan at the northern end, and Magallanes at the southern end. Mahirap kayang matutong umasa lalo na ang umasa sa wala.
5. The virtue of understanding. Hanggang ngayon, nobody knows what happened to the scandals and the number of investigations on MRT messes, and nobody gets punished except the commuters. And nobody knows why our great senators and officials would not want to take the MRT and take the lessons the "pleasant MRT ride" provides. Kung sabagay, mahirap nga namang isakay ang magagarang sasakyan sa MRT, di ba mga minamahal na senador at congressman?
6. The science and virtue of appreciating art. Only a few learns to appreciate art. But when commuters get inside the MRT station and look at the unoperational ticket vending machines, they immediately acquire the science and virtue of art appreciation. Ang iba nga napapakanta pa ng Mona Lisa if you ask ano ang ginagawa ng mga kahon ng latang yun. Those machines costing hundreds of thousands of pesos and even millions... "would just lie there and they die there".