The Jeepney, originally made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II is the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. It is specifically used for commuting through short distance travels, more or less around 30 kilometers or so. The number of passengers it can carry primarily depends on its length. As for the main parts of the Jeepney, its quite a simple explanation, there’s the driver;
And of course, the source of income, the passengers;
For each ride, Filipinos may experience such of the following perks, some good and not so good times but generally, they are all part of the colorful way to commute around.
Lets start from the beginning, a commuter must first look for a proper terminal or a proper sidewalk(sometimes anywhere) to wait for the Jeepney.
-The commuter will fall in line approaching the designated Jeepney to board. This shows some discipline. Whether he/she likes it or not, each must follow the line unless they’d prefer walking.
-The commuter must then prepare the payment accordingly to their destination. For this, being honest comes into action. This goes both ways for the passenger as well for the driver because the most common way to pay the fare is to manually hand the amount towards the driver. The driver’s task is to ensure the correct change.
– If you are in that rear end position, you should be humble enough and request from other passengers to hand in your payment. In return, they’ll show some courteousness to pass along the payment, especially coming from the far end of the Jeepney.
– If you happen to travel with a friend, being polite by discreetly talking to each other is also expected. Laughing too hard or talking too loudly isn’t really a good manner inside a Jeepney.
– Along the way, if by chance an elderly or a person with disability happens to be a passenger, everyone is expected to show full cooperation and respect to their needs accordingly such as proper space and comfort.
– If someone calls out for their stop, once again, passengers nearest to the driver must be kind enough to tell the driver.
– If its your turn to depart, it goes best to be very gentle and take good care of your steps on your way out so that you’ll not bump knee to knee or hurt other passengers as you go out.
Here are some fun facts:
– Every Filipino who knows the culture of riding a Jeepney knows the everyday “miracle” behind a normal 16 seater vehicle that astoundingly becomes a 20 seater.
– In some remote areas, Jeepneys are considered the only means of transport absent bus. People there have already developed a custom to completely overload the vehicle up to the roof. Yeah, the roof. Dangerous enough but hell, we are Filipinos. Broom broom! 😀
And that’s it, do you have any other suggestions? Feel free to comment!
Questions? I’d be very glad to accept them! 😀
(I do not own the photos. Credits properly due to the owners and photographers.)