Jeepneys face a rough ride

REUTERS , MANILA
Wednesday, Apr 21, 2004, Page 16

With their garish colours, chrome mudguards and lavish decorations, jeepneys are the unique Philippine solution to the problem of mass transport.

The open-air converted jeeps, with names such as "Zig Zag Queen," "Brutista" and "In God We Trust" painted on their sun screens, give a festive flair to local roads and set Manila apart from any other Asian megacity.

But for passengers, the charm can be less obvious. Packed knee-to-knee on twin benches, they bake in the tropical heat, exposed to diesel fumes and the din of traffic.

While king of the road, the national icon faces stiff competition from airconditoned buses and Japanese vehicles known as "FXs," for the Toyota Tamaraw FX, a minivan that is ubiquitous in the Philippines.

"There's no way you can step out of a jeepney and not be smelly. It's not the best way to go the office," said Ricus de Castro, a computer science student.

With fares at four pesos (US 7 cents) for the first 4km, jeepneys remain the cheapest ride in a city where the minimum wage is less than 300 pesos per day.

Fares air-conditioned FXs start at 10 pesos but many passengers prefer to pay more for comfort.

"The FXs are cool inside, they run more frequently and there are less bag snatchers," said Eve, a commuter on Ayala Avenue, in Manila's Makati business district.

Buses also stealing passengers from jeepneys. "Airconditioned Be Happy," reads a large sign on a Makati bus.

The Land Transportation Office counted 180,000 jeepneys among 794,306 public utility vehicles in 2001, the most recent year for which figures are available. The latter category also includes buses, taxis and FX vans.

The overall number has grown at about nine to 10 percent each year since 1998, but jeepney fleets have been steady, as the government has put a cap on licences.

"The number of jeepneys is decreasing because the government has a plan to eradicate them," said Mario Garvida, president of PISTON, the largest of several jeepney owners' associations.

Philippine authorities have repeatedly said they want to phase out old and polluting jeepneys. Most jeepneys run on second-hand engines and many are poorly maintained.

"We want to produce less smoke. But how can a simple operator buy these gadgets? If the government were sincere, it would force the oil companies to sell cleaner fuels," Garvida said, adding that the average jeepney driver earns less than 200 pesos a day.

So how about installing aircon in jeepneys?

"That would not be practical and too expensive," said Ed Sarao, director of Sarao Motors Inc, the country's largest maker of jeepneys.

Because the cost, it would be equally difficult to put new, less polluting engines in jeepneys, he said.

A standard 18-passenger jeepney costs about 330,000 pesos (US$5,900) and the more luxurious version 400,000 pesos.

A new engine would add about 200,000 pesos, making a jeepney nearly as dear as a new Japanese mini-van, which costs between 600,000 and one million pesos.

Sarao been building jeepneys since the 1950s but its glory days are long gone. It now produces just 300 per year, less than a quarter of its output in the 1960s and 1970s. Employment has fallen to just 50 workers, from 350 five years ago.

Despite troubles, Sarao is still a fully fledged car factory, where jeepneys are made from scratch.

The original jeepneys were built on the extended chassis of American army jeeps, but now Sarao welds its own chassis and fashions the body from galvanised steel and chrome sheets.

The only imported parts are the second-hand Japanese Isuzu diesel engines bought from Chinese traders.

Last but not least comes the decoration. Most Sarao jeepneys come with one or more zinc-alloy horses on the hood, a throwback to the Sarao family's origins as calesa, or horse cart, drivers.

The best Sarao jeepneys also feature a small forest of antennae (not connected to any radio), a few ship-sized horns (in good working order) and many, many lights.

Some FX operators have tried to jazz up their vehicles, but the boxy vans don't lend themselves well to personalization and aircon remains their main attraction.

"If the standard of living in the Philippines improves, maybe one day we can make an air-conditioned jeepney," Sarao said.