The Jeepney

Oh the Jeepney. What would we do without it?  Here in the Philippines the Jeepney is King of the Road, because it is the main source of transportation for the masses. It cost about 20 cents for a ride downtown or around 60 cents to travel farther to areas outside the city. The Jeepney began after World War II. When the Americans began pulling out of the Philippines they gave or sold off their military jeeps to the locals who converted them in to buses that hold 10-25 people and vibrantly decorated them inside and out. They say the name may have come from the name of the Jeep and the word "knee"  because you sit knee to knee. The inside of the jeepney has a bench on either side and you sit facing the people on the opposite bench. Generally you are knee to knee, most times though you are not actually touching knees. There is enough space for a person to barely walk through, though. In some cases this space is filled with bags of produce, small children, pigs, ducks or goats.  You can pretty much do anything on a jeep- including riding on top and hanging off the back of them.  Sometimes you will be on a jeep and have it to yourself- other times you will be so squished that you hardly have room to breath- I am NOT over-exaggerating.

To ride a jeep you find one that says where you want to go- it will say it along the side of the jeep- Ex.  Maria Basa to Baguio Plaza - Each type takes a slightly different route which is helpful because if you learn where each ones goes you can go almost anywhere in town via jeepney. However you can also find yourself a bit lost if you get on one and don't know where it goes.

 You can get on and off a jeepney- ANYWHERE you want. Just say "para"= stop and they will stop and let you out.  This can be hazardous to traffic and other drivers but overall it works pretty well.  To get on a jeep just wave or nod to the driver and they will pull over and let you on. To pay you say "bayad" and pass your money to the person next to you and it gets passed to the driver. If you do not give exact change you have to tell them how many you are paying for and they will send your change back. Sometimes it can be confusing whose change goes where but we have never had any problem getting our change back. Everyone is very honest.  People on the jeepney are almost always nice and helpful. If you need to know how to get somewhere or to know how much the jeep fare cost- just ask and they will let you know.

Some things you may experience while riding on a jeep:

• Sit next to a duck.
• Be exposed to a woman openly breastfeed her toddler.
• Fall onto the person next to you when the jeep comes to a sudden stop.
• Breath in exhaust while sitting in traffic forever.
• Watch as your jeep almost runs over pedestrians and other vehicles.
• Enjoy the breeze and the view traveling down the mountain.
• Make friends with Filipinos.
• Laugh and joke with your friends so much you almost miss where you need to get off!
• Be openly stared at and talked about by those sitting around you.
• Buy candy, sticky rice or other street foods from venders who are on their way downtown to sell their goods.

I love riding on jeepneys and enjoy being close with the people and real Filipino life.  We do also ride taxis, walk, and get rides from friends but I am thankful for the Jeepney as a cheap and abundant mode of transportation.

All jeepney's have their route painted on the side of them along with other colorful art and designs. The front of the jeepney also has often has a name of the jeep.

Here are some names of Jeepneys we see on the road everyday:

• Star Jack
• Only You
• God Gave Me You
• Native Tongue
• Tuding Express (Tuding is a part of Baguio)
• Daydream Believer
• 4 J Brothers
• John Michael
• Jehovah Jireh
• Benjie
• He Leadeth Me
• Christ 'D' Lord
• Chester
• Braveheart
• Dallas Cowboys
• In God We Trust

 
Images  that we've seen painted on the side of Jeepneys:

• Johnny Bravo
• American Flag
• Britney Spears (not even kidding- it is scarry- see photo below)
• Pegasus
• Pack of Husky dogs
• Herd of running horses
• Cinderella
• Ariel (Little Mermaid)

Many are just bright colors and stripes.

 Me with one of our local jeeps. 

This is the one with Britney Spears- she is the blonde on the side- hard to see. This is not my picture- found it on the internet- but I know this jeep!

This is the view of the back of a jeep- see the benches inside. Sometimes there are as many of 10 adults on each side- often with several children on their laps. People also stand on the platform on the back and hang on. The metal bars on the side often have baskets and boxes tied to them with people's purchases or goods to be sold. The top of the jeep often is full of things like this too. In the mountain province- jeeps are so crowded (because there are less) that people even ride on TOP of the jeep! 

Craig and Lindsey enjoying a non-crowded jeep ride.

Hanging out the back of the jeep :)

Being whispered about and stared at on the jeepney.... unfortunately a part of everyday life here.  It's not so bad when it's cute kids like this. When it's teenage girls or guys- it's like being in high school all over again. 

A crowded ride on the jeepney.

Now in my opinion the most impressive part of the jeepney is the driver.

Here is a list of things the jeepney driver does all pretty much at the same time:

• Drives a really old stick shift jeep 
• Collect money 
• Make change
• Look for people on the street who want a ride
• Listen for "Para" or "Bayad" to either stop and let people off the jeep or to reach their arm back to collect payment. 

If you need to know when to get off the jeep you can tell the driver and they will keep track and tell you when to get off.

On top of all that the roads here, like most foreign countries, are a bit crazy- other jeeps stopping, taxis and cars passing and weaving through traffic, pedestrians crossing the street everywhere etc...

What Craig thinks is most impressive is how these guys keep their jeepneys running. Just about everyday someone in our neighborhood (we have a lot of jeeps in our neighborhood) is working on repairing some aspect of their jeep.  Just this week a group of men were doing an engine overhaul on our street.  Also the fact that these jeeps can stay on the road is amazing. (although you do see them broken down on the side of the road frequently.)  Most of the jeepneys have pretty bald tires and probably a million other things technically "wrong" with them- but they keep going! 

One more thing that I enjoy about the jeepney is that some of them have sound systems in them and the drivers usually play country music. No country is not my absolute favorite but it is fun to sing along.  Craig makes fun of me, but Filipinos sing everywhere, all the time and are not shy about it one bit- so why should I be?! :) 

The biggest downfall of Jeepneys is their excessive and nasty diesel exhaust filling the streets. We feel like we are going to have black lungs by the time we get home.   

And that is the Jeepney in a nutshell. :)