Jeepney in the Philippines: A much Loved Icon
The Loud and Colorful Filipino Jeepney has an amazing History:
Jeepneys in the Phillipines: Jeepneys can be seen everywhere on the busy streets of Manila, and all over the Philippine Islands.
There are an estimated 180,000 – 270,000 franchised jeepneys on the road across the whole of the Philippines. That’s a whole load of Jeep!
During the 2nd world war, the Philippines was heavily occupied by the United States military. The army used the Jeep as their main source of transportation around the islands
The idea of the Jeepney was derived from the old American Jeeps, but they were shorter. The Jeepney in the Philippines is longer by 2 meters and have very colourful designs and the name “Jeepney” was thought of because the knees of the passengers riding it will touch with each other and the word “jeep” when combined with “knee” sounds like “Jeepney”. The Jeepneys were first considered to be a small bus and everything is hand built.
King of the Road
When Jeeps were first driven on the roads in the 1950s, there were Filipino entrepreneurs who took advantage of modifying them to invent the Jeepney. They made the Jeepney colorful and added more and more features and eventually it became the transit mode for the masses.
One of the entrepreneurs behind them was Leonardo Sarao and during that time he was driving a horse-drawn cart. He was very inspired to give public transportation to Filipinos and that’s how he thought of making Jeepnies/Jeepneys a main line of business for him.
Today, there are a lot of franchisers who operate Jeepnies and it is still the cheapest form of transportation because it only costs 20 cents or 8 pesos in Philippine money. It can accommodate 18 people and has windows with no glass for ventilation.
Jeepneys are hand built
All of the Jeepneys that are being made in the Philippines are done by hand and some of the parts used have been imported from Japan. The body work and chassis are all made in the Philippines and the majority of Jeepnies have music and horns that are really loud making easy it for someone to tell that a Jeepney is about to arrive.
What comprises a real Jeepney in the Philippines?
Jeepnies are very colourful because they are painted with different designs and they even have glittering, and various other decorations. The Jeepney can also have a specific name written on the front with extra lights. It is these details that give Jeepnies their characteristics, making them a trademark of the Philippines.
A more comprehensive look into what comprises a real Jeepney in the Philippines
Tap the roof the Jeepney when you want to get off
When you are riding a Jeepney and it is time for you to get off, all you have to do is tap a coin on the roof to notify the conductor to tell the driver to stop. There will be new passengers who will get in after you get out and the ones who are already inside will move to accommodate new passengers.
How to tell where the Jeepney will take you
When you look at the side of a Jeepney in the Philippines, you will usually find two or more place names written there. The ones that are written in bigger form will tell you about the fixed route of the Jeepney so you know which one you must take.
A Jeepney in the Philippines is easy to spot and when you come here you will immediately find them because each one of them has very distinctive designs.
Are Jeepneys Being Phased Out In The Philippines?
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Jeepney in the Philippines – by Ysabel Carbalo
Jeepney in the Philippines Cover Image: tz
Jeepney in the Philippines flickr images licensed under CC BY 2.0
Additional images: adobe, colourbox, istock, pexels, shutterstock, unsplash unless otherwise stated.
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