Jeepneys

My field of interest and work in the US is transportation. The idea of how people move ourselves and our things around has a huge impact on our daily lives, our sense of and the shape of our communities, our impact in society and as well, the world. It’s the filter or lens though which I see many things.
My regular commute to De La Salle University in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines takes about 35 minutes. 5 Minutes by motorized tricycle (usually a 125 cc motorcycle with sidecar attached- 20 pesos or $.44 each way), 15 minutes by Jeepney ( 6.5 pesos or $.14 each way) and 15 minutes walking though the beautiful campus (“priceless”).

Reflection….7/7/08
I remember my first ride in a Jeepeny. I was 13 years old and visiting my Stepfather’s family in Quezon City. We took a ride in one with my Mom, sister (3 years old then) and Stepfather. The main thing that I remember are my toes curling up inside my shoes as the Jeep sped along 6 inches from another Jeepney. Quiet chaos inside my head as I battled the urge to freak out. That could sum up a lot of that trip, really. I’ve been thinking back to that trip a great deal since then. More about that later….

For now…I have an idea…
You can tell a lot about a driver by the inside of their Jeepney. Is it clean,? Can you see through the floor to the ground below? Do the seats sway when it goes over a bump. Does the driver swear as he drives? It’s been a novel experience for me to ride in them on this trip. Depending on the driver and the time of day it can be smooth experience or much the opposite. It’s a complex matrix no doubt, but in short, when I see a clean inside with a trash can for passengers, and a smooth driver who’s not out for the checkered flag in morning traffic- it’s a good day.

Two weeks back our Jeepney was rear-ended by another Jeep. It happened in slow motion with tires squeeling from the vehicle behind, as it attempted to stop. The collision was at about 3 or 4 MPH when it bumped into the back of ours. Really it was kind of exciting. Matt and I got out and walked the rest of the way to our NGO assignment that day.

Most of the time here we are travelling with others in our student group. Yesterday however, I was feeling a sore throat coming on. I think I’m one of the last ones in the group to catch it. I went home early and before the spontaneous meeting called by our director and before the birthday party of another director that we were asked to pay for. I just left and went home to rest, eat raw garlic, drink lots of water and try to get better sooner. I rode by myself and I knew it was going to be problematic. I stand out here like a German in a Speedo at the beach (in the US). The drivers regularly “forget” to give me the correct change for my student fare. This one was doing the same thing. I made it easy for him by giving him at 50 peso bill, when my fare was only 6.5 pesos. It’s just easier to give them exact change. I had a politely encourage him to give me the rest of my change, but he just gave me 50 centavos less. Already sick and with a headache, I surveyed the situation. I took a deep breath and decided that I would stop trying to get my change. It ended up being one penny that I didn’t get. Oh well. Still though I didn’t like the principle of it. Then it started to rain very hard. The rest of the passengers got off and it was just the 2 of us. Not long after that, in the pouring rain, the driver grunted something to me and pulled over on the very narrow street. I reminded him of my stop politely and he just ignored me. I got out of the jeep and walked the rest of the 2 blocks in the rain where I got a ride the rest of the way on a tricycle. At home the neighbors (same family) let me into our host stay and I collapsed onto the bed.

I haven’t seen any women drivers here yet. I saw one woman driving what looked like her family in a tricycle last week, but that’s the only one so far. I don’t know if I’ll come up with a system to assess the relative safety or ease of a Jeepney trip from looking at the insides of the Jeep. We usually jump into the first available one. I think that being here, I’m just going to do what my other group member does and what probably more people than I can tell are doing… that’s pray.