When American troops went home in 1946, they left behind hundreds of military jeeps. Filipinos fitted them with benches, daubed them with gaudy illustrations and began charging commuters for lifts around town
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThis is far from ideal. Ancient diesel engines sputter beneath most jeepneys’ garish bodywork. Transport of all kinds produces close to one-third of the Philippines’ energy-related carbon emissions. By one estimate jeepneys cough out 15% of all the pollution from road vehicles. Riders must often scurry into the street to clamber into the back of one.
The government would like to see them zoom off into the sunset. In 2017 it decreed that most jeepney drivers would be given three years to swap their bangers for cleaner, safer vehicles that look suspiciously like minibuses. They were promised cheap loans to help buy these machines, which are supposed to come withand Wi-Fi and which were, at the time, predicted to cost about 1.5m pesos each. But jeepney drivers and operators honked furiously.
In the years since then the project has trundled ever further off course. By July 2019 it was being reported that only about 2% of old jeepneys had been upgraded. Not long after that covid-19 began battering drivers’ livelihoods, providing the government with an excuse not to start punishing slowcoaches. In March it declined once again to put its foot down. It said it would start offering jeepney drivers one-year permits allowing them to keep their jaunty jalopies on the road.
Unless authorities plan to issue endless extensions, they will probably have to conjure up new carrots and sticks. Eric, a jeepney driver in Manila, speaks for many when he says he cannot ever imagine swapping his bright red vehicle for a spiffy new bus. The souped-up replacements have ended up costing more than was expected. And the 300-400 pesos he earns each day is already too little to get by on. The clanking trucks occasionally break down.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
MP Neil Parish says he may have opened porn in Commons by mistakeNeil Parish refuses to resign as an MP until the investigation into the allegations concludes.
Read more »
The Indian villagers who refuse to let the dead restTwo years after Badru died his family refuse to perform the last rites, claiming he was out picking flowers when he was gunned down by security forces fighting Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh. Namita Singh reports from the remote Bastar Range
Read more »
Newspaper headlines: Tory MP 'refuses to quit' and Becker 'to serve time'A Tory MP's suspension over pornography claims and tennis star Boris Becker's jail sentence lead the papers.
Read more »
Joe Alwyn refuses to ‘feed’ curiosity about Taylor Swift relationshipEnglish actor Joe Alwyn has said he refuses to 'feed' the curiosity surrounding his relationship with Taylor Swift.
Read more »
Hospital patient fined after spending 11 minutes trying to pay in car park'I will be fighting it in court if I have to. I’ll basically embarrass them because I think it’s absolutely disgraceful.’ A hospital patient was fined £60 despite only staying a in the car park for 11 minutes while trying to work out how to pay.
Read more »
Five rescued and dozens missing in China building collapseFive people have been pulled out alive and dozens are missing from a collapsed building in central China, authorities said on Saturday.
Read more »