JEEPNEY: A REAL VEHICLE FOR LIFE

     Pinagmamalaki natin ang jeepney na isang tunay na produkto ng mga Pilipino. Kahit saan nakikita natin ito, sa syudad, sa probinsiya, sa bundok, sa pilapil, at kung saan-saan talaga. Tunay na maipagmamalaki natin.

Pero ang tanong, is it convenient to ride the jeepney?

I have been riding our jeepney since time immemorial and I have begun to ask, how come it can't be seen abroad like the Mercedes Benz or Toyota, etc.? Why can't we make it exportable in massive numbers?

The design of the jeepney is beautiful from the outside. But once we ride it, that's where the problem begins. There is no uniformity of interiors among the jeepneys.

1. The step for entering could be one foot or one foot and a half from the ground. If you are wearing a skirt, then your thighs would show up and you'll see the driver viewing you from the mirror. Eeky is it not?

2. The handle to help you get inside is not safely put up. Some jeepneys have this iron cover for the  window which extends to the handle. So your hand could get hurt as you try to rush in especially when traffic is heavy on the road.

3. The ceiling could be high or low -- it is not fixed. So you could crouch low  or very low.

4. Then as you sit down, the seat could be softly padded or not at all. Also the width of the seat is variable, some are enough for you sit comfortably; with others, you only sit halfway because there is no standard for how wide or how long the jeepney passenger seats should be.

5. The drivers always increase the number of passengers despite the minimum that is stated on the side of the vehicle. So you could sit comfortably or always be sitting on edge.

6. If it is evening, you can hardly see your seatmates or even recognize your bills and coins simply because, either there is no light available or the bulb has very low wattage, or the bulbs are placed here, there, and everywhere and so you have to transfer seats if you want to read something or pick the right bills from your wallet.

7. Some jeepneys have blue or yellow bulbs. No uniform color for lighting.

8. Some jeepneys have their windows with plastic glass and then covered with several nickel-plated iron bars. However, when you sit down with it at your back, your skin could get hurt. The bars stick out so that when the jeep stops abruptly you could just cry "ouch." 

9. The driver sometimes has a companion who seems to challenge him as to how fast he could drive. So to display his wizardry he weaves in and out of the traffic at high speed. If you complain, he will tell you "Dapat nag-taksi na lang kayo." And so you have to reply, "Amina ang isang daan at magta-taksi ako."

10. Sometimes, a jeepney driver tails another vehicle and then brakes very hard when that  one in front stops suddenly. So as passenger, you will slide down the seat or hurt  yourself because you just bump on some part of the jeep. When you complain, the same response is uttered: "Dapat nag-taksi na lang kayo." My response to that is  "Dapat one-vehicle away kayo, hindi nakabuntot sa susunod." Usually the driver understands that and I think it is a new lesson for him. He keeps quiet.  He never had thought probably that his jeepney should really have space before the next vehicle.

11. When it rains, the "trapal" by the windows could be a very new plastic sheet, or a bit dilapidated, meaning to say full of holes. Then its clips for hanging could be complete or incomplete. It depends on whether the owner is generous enough to maintain the vehicle all the time. But brace yourself for the rains to drench your back.

12. If the seats get wet from the rains, the driver will provide you either with a clean or dirty rag. Don't be so choosy or he will give you a good glare.

13. Signboards are not readily visible especially at night. There are just too many words on a small plate. Then the driver is inclined to place too many signboards on the dashboard so that when you are outside and trying to decipher which one is best for you to take, by the time you are able to, the jeep has passed by already.

I really think we should only have numbers instead of words as  signboards. For example, going to Cubao from Quiapo via Aurora Boulevard, that would be 1. To Cubao from Quiapo via E. Rodriguez, that would be 2. From Quiapo to Project 2-3 via E. Rodriguez and Kamuning, that would be 3, and so on and so forth. When people know that one number represents one direction for the jeepney, then even the elderlies shall not have a hard time hailing the jeepney.

The same kind of numbering can be done with buses plying Edsa. For example, all buses plying EDSA shall have circular disks with 1-B, meaning from Monumento it is going to Baclaran. then vice-versa, the disk shall carry 1-M. If going to Ayala Alabang, then it shall be 1-AA; if to Muntinglupa, then 1-ML; if to San Pedro, then 1-SP. All the sidings of the buses should bear the number-letters also.

14. Jeepneys should also have, aside from numbers,  one color band above their dashboards to signify their directions. All jeeps going to Cubao shall have blue color. All going to Fairview, green; to Kamuning and Kamias, white, etcetera. Or they could have colored circular disks with the numbers also.  

These suggestions are being done in order to ease the transport problems of commuters. I am sure our kababayan are complaining but they just cannot voice out their opinions because they have to worry about the nitty-gritty of where they will get their next meal. I think we must understand that MetroManila is one great concrete jungle; so we must find ways and means to negotiate its streets in very simple ways.

So, please LTFRB, exercise your muscles and face the music. Let the jeepney be a REAL  vehicle for life.