The Philippine Jeepney~ A Closer Look

Jeepneys, which origins can be dated back from World War II, are taking their position as the most popular means of transportation in the Philippines. These public vehicles also took some physical and structural transformations from its first looks to its third generation types. And now, there's the so called "E-jeepney". Let's take a closer look at Philippine jeepneys.

Filipinos may not notice, but these public vehicles are taking a part of their daily living. Take mine as an example. Every morning, as I walk down the streets, I can't help but notice a man or two on the jeepney terminal, casually-dressed, and shouting their heart for possible passengers to ride the jeepney. Their eager voices filled the area and I wonder why did they have to do those things. I mean, if a person wants a ride, he/she will go to a public vehicle voluntarily without anyone calling. Right? But then, due to the growing number of public vehicles, maybe its competition to blame. And BTW, its their preferred job.


I think most jeepney drivers are very strict when it comes to their vehicle's seating capacity. If it's for 18 people, it's for 18. They usually don't start the trip if the number of passengers doesn't meet the jeepney's capacity. But what if there's a man who wants a ride, they have 17 seated passengers, one of them is a fat lady, and what remains vacant is a couple of inches? ''Uh-Oh!'' and ''Good Luck!'' for that man.

Another is the jeepney's unique look and style which drivers and owners want to improve all the time. Here are some special(?) parts:

• The windshield is typically decorated with a signboard, stickers, hanging toys, rosary, air freshener, etc. which becomes exaggeratedly-designed and passengers from behind cannot see where the jeepney is going. Good thing there are
• side windows which let passengers see the side of the road. But some jeepney's windows are very narrow and low that only your neck can take a better look outside. In these cases, the passenger's last hope is the
• rear entrance which is widely open. But, if the jeepney goes fast, you may be 5 meters away from your stop after you tell the driver to stop.
• The upper part on the front has a large banner with writings on it about anything that its owner wants. Some jeepneys even have radio antennas on both side which are not connected to their radios. Say what?
• Both sides of the jeepney serves as mural walls. (Try to see a jeepney and you'll know what I mean.)
• Some also provide a trash can behind the driver's seat which is only accessible for those near it.

Another not-so-great feature of a jeepney is that it accepts both passengers and cargoes (fish drums, grocery boxes, merchandise items, and almost everything) which makes it a good choice of transportation. But why did I say ''not-so-great''? Because passengers and cargoes are both stuffed inside the jeepney (passengers seating on sides and cargoes on the center). And making it worse is how a passenger will make an exit through this obstacle-like scenario.

Vehicles have a thing which we can call a sound signature. Its how a vehicle will leave an impression for those who heard its sound. Its like when you hear ''Vrooooom!'', then its a great car that passed by. But if its an unrecognizable and unexplainable noise that's only great for New Year's Day, then its no other than a jeepney.

Feel free to drop some comments!

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