Jeepney Culture

The jeepney began with surplus American military jeeps left after 1945, lengthened by local builders to seat passengers on two benches facing each other, and it became the backbone of Philippine road transport - a fixed-route shared vehicle with no timetable, boarded from the rear, paid for with coins passed up the aisle from hand to hand to the driver, who makes change while steering. What turned it into a craft is the decoration: chrome horses on the bonnet, hand-painted panels, airbrushed lettering, family names, saints, basketball teams and slogans, each vehicle finished to its owner's taste by workshops in Las Piñas, Marikina and Pampanga. It is also a live political subject. A government modernisation programme requires operators to replace old units with newer, emissions-compliant minibuses, and the cost, the consolidation of small operators into cooperatives and the loss of the vehicle itself have driven repeated transport strikes and a genuine national argument that remains unresolved.

What's there

• The painted bodies - hand-lettered panels and chrome ornament.
• The bench seating - two facing rows entered from the back.
• The fare relay - coins passed up the aisle to the driver.
• The builders' yards - workshops in Las Piñas and Pampanga.

When to go

Year-round. Ride outside the morning and evening peaks if you want space; routes are posted on the vehicle's side and destinations are shouted by the barker at terminals.

What to expect

Jeepneys are hot, cramped and unventilated in traffic, and boarding involves stooping. Keep valuables secure and small coins ready. The modernisation programme means the fleet is changing - what you see now may not be there in a few years.

Nearby

The builders' workshops in Las Piñas and Pampanga can be visited; Manila's terminals are where the routes converge.