[sustran] Adopt a Jeepney?

[remonde at gsilink.com]

Dear Eric,

The jeepney fares are quite low. Aside from that, repair, especially 
spare parts, have become expensive. Most of the parts - including 
tires - are imported. According to the manager of one transpo 
organization here in Cebu City, the locally produced spare parts are 
of inferior quality. The jeepney owners (operators) hire drivers to 
drive the jeepney.

So while jeepneys may be marginal (small operators and drivers are 
among the poor), one jeepney sustains the livelihood of at least two 
families (the operator's and the driver's). Filipino families have 
5-8 members.

We do have a problem of enforcement as well. Drivers/owners are 
slapped a fine if their jeepneys are caught smoke belching. In Metro 
Manila, big passenger buses are probably the worst when it comes to 
smokebelching. Many of these vehicles are imported second hand from 
Japan. Again, except for a few large bus companies, most operators 
own only 1 or 2 units.

Marit

> 
> Are jeepneys really so marginal to operate that owners can
> not afford to tune their vehicles?  Or is it that no one
> is forcing them to do so?  Eric
> 
> 
> On Tue, 21 Apr 1998 remonde at gsilink.com wrote:
> 
> > I am from Denmark but have resided in the Philippines since 1992, 
> > first in Metro Manila, now in Cebu City.
> > 
> > I agree that jeepneys are a very convenient mode of transportation. 
> > It's very flexible, it's easy to get in and out, and they are 
> > everywhere. However, more should be done to discipline drivers and 
> > passengers. The jeepneys disburb others with their swirling from lane to 
> > lane and dropping off/taking up of passengers on every corner. It 
> > can't hurt passengers to learn to get on/off on designated bus stops. 
> > Jeepney drivers, on the other hand, should understand that by 
> > swirling, they make life difficult for their jeepney driver 
> > colleagues.
> > 
> > In Cebu, many jeepneys are smoke belchers. We'll soon (hopefully) be 
> > launching a small project. We call it the Adopt a Jeepney for a 
> > Cleaner Cebu Project. This takes into consideration that most jeepney 
> > operators (60%) own only 1 or 2 jeepneys. Their capital is not 
> > sufficient to have the jeepney overhauled and the oil changed. 
> > Therefore the smoke belching. We're hoping that private business and 
> > civic organizations will "adopt" a jeepney, that is, provide small 
> > subsidies (maybe P2000/year or US$50) to poor jeepney operators. In 
> > the end, everybody should benefit. And we'll have a cleaner city.
> > 
> > Warmest regards,
> > Marit Stinus-Remonde
> > Cebu Environmental Initiatives for Development Center, Inc.
> > 
> > 
> > >  >Problem here is that once on the jitneys, people will want to
> > >  >stay on them to their final destination. People hate to transfer,
> > >  >and I don't blame them. It's an incredible waste of time. So
> > >  >you end up with Manila, where the streets are mobbed by jitneys.
> > > 
> > > I am from Manila and I LOVE jeepneys (as we call them). I use them
> > > most of the time, and prefer them to buses. I don't consider them
> > > problems at all -- they're an efficient public transport mode.
> > > 
> > > Obet Verzola
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > 
> 
> 
>