Jeepneys are the most popular public transport in the Philippines. In almost every street and every village and city you?ll find them and they are going everywhere.
In fact it would be easy to travel from north to south only using Jeepney’s.
click on the thumbnail to see the larger images
Fare prices are low. Per person one has to pay 7 to 8 pesos for the first 4 km. For every extra km a few pesos more. The only problem is that the Jeepneys have a specific route and then going back. So if you have to travel further you have to take another Jeepneys and pay again of course. That?s why the Jeepneys are mostly used for distances until about 10 km in City areas but in the provinces until sometimes 40 or 50 km.
Jeeps stop on demand, that means that if you want a ride you just wave to the driver and he?s stopping the car so you can go in. They stop even on street corners or on pedestrian crossings and also on traffic light when they are green. Once you are having a ride and like to get out, you just say ?para? and the driver stops right away and lets you get out on practically every place in the street, thus also on street corners and pedestrian crossings. Some jeeps have a conductor who collects the fares. If there?s no conductor the driver himself collects the fare mostly while driving.
What I like the most in Jeepneys is the look. Most cars are painted in bright colors with a large variety of images and text. A lot of those images are religious but you can see also images from the drivers children, their favorite movie stars, singers and so on. These days it is a separate industry to paint the jeeps. The techniques they are using now is air-brush. Several years ago they still painted the traditional way.
An other thing in jeeps is the ornaments they put to decorate the vehicle: Carabao horns (the horn from the local water buffalo), horses, hooters and antennas you can see. Lots of colorful lights and lamps are completing the jeep. Especially after dark it is nice to see the colorful lights they have. In the passenger compartment you can often hear a music installation which is producing very loud (mostly disco) music. For a person like me who hates loud music it’s a crime to get into such jeep.
Lots of jeeps are already older and really need renovation. Drivers and owners of jeeps usually just wait for renovation or repair until the car breaks down. That?s the reason that a lot of jeeps are producing a lot of noise and black smoke. Also their tyres often don?t have profile anymore. And I?m told that there?s even jeeps with practically no breaks. The driver has to break on the engine and do the mechanical break when the car almost stands.
Maintenance is something that a Filipino hardly knows. Not only in cars, but also in their houses and appliances. I?ll write a special blog about this soon.
Filipino time:
[...] Some time ago I was standing on a street corner in Marikina City and take pictures of passing jeepneys for my blog about this typical public transport.Check that post here. [...]
Good report Jan.
Its true that they are entertaining vehicles as a means of transport. I have taken some great shots of little kids while travelling in them. The kids’ faces, so expressive. Those eyes, usually full of hope and anticipation. The mothers’ faces, often reflect the hardness that a life of just existing without real means to better yourself, brings. Some of the wealthy class should be required to travel on th jeepneys. Maybe it would release a philanthropic streak in the occasional “grandee”.
Roger,
Thanks for visiting my site.
I agree with you. When you travel in a jeepney kids and also some adults are having a certain expression on their faces.
maybe because a ‘white’ man riding a jeep? or maybe because of the behaviour of the jeepney driver?
it used to be a treat when my dad would let me pay the driver when the jeeps are empty. When its full though and the car is moving, people in the jeep would even help me walk towards the driver to hand him our fare.
Hi Meng,
When children do not ride a jeepney every day it might be something special for them and exciting. I think that’s what you must have been feeling then….
Thanks for visiting my site.
I have some recommendations for the traffic problem in the Metro Manila area here:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/letter-editor-2
Excerpt: “I believe that the jeepney today, instead of being the blessing that it had been in the past 60 years, has become an archaic relic of the past, an invention that had its day, and should be encased in a museum of Philippine history.”
Hi,
I agree with the letter to the editor in the link. This is the way public transport should be in large cities. Stable salaries for the drivers and controllers. Fixed loading and unloading points every 300 meters and a strict driving scedule: on time and regularly.
I am affraid this is an utopia for the Philippines. It should have been implemented already 50 years ago. At this moment I do not see possibilities to change it.
Who knows that a next administration will be able to do so…. I really hope so!