Jeepney Phaseout: comfortable equates to unemployment

Jeepneys are an essential part of the public transport system in our country. These vehicles are nearly synonymous with the nation and have established themselves as national symbols of innovation and culture. They’ve been here for decades, providing the transportation community with flexible routes and cheaper fees than other modes of transportation. The new replacement vehicles are more energy-efficient, comfortable, and safe. Comfortable and safe might be tempting for a lot to assume that a new era of modernization has begun.

The government plan, which was first envisaged in 2017 and was supposed to go into effect in 2020, has been repeatedly postponed because to a number of transport industry strikes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a number of government reviews. According to the most recent government statistics, 98,801 of the 150,000 jeepneys that are planned for renovation have already been consolidated. The Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon (SMMNTT), simply known as Manibela- a public transport organization created a data that out of 100,000 drivers and operators, 40,000 are in Metro Manila. Affecting millions of commuters.

A major event brought together more than a thousand members of transport cooperatives from across the nation to protest a strike in opposition to the “change” that the Marcos administration eyes. Joe Lawenko, the chairman of one of the long-running jeepney operators in the Philippines, succumbed to the government plan to reduce pollution levels and the aim for modernization. Many individuals seek for modernity in a world engulfed by technology, the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program’s (PUVMP) requirement for the jeepney operators to utilize it for its implementation has been pushed by the public to assess the credibility of this attempt to revamp the public transportation system that resulted with a week-long strike from March 6-12, 2023.

Which led to local government units and educational institutions using immediate measures in response to the protest action.

There might not be enough automobiles to support the daily commute of thousands of people if the old jeepneys are entirely taken off our highways. This is due to the possibility of many jeepney proprietors and drivers considering closing their doors and finding alternative sources of income. By making it harder for them to work, conventional jeepney drivers lose the knack to support their families and make ends meet.

The proposed modifications would bring the jeepney up to date while raising costs. Not to mention that a modern jeepney would be more than twice as expensive as one from before. These modifications, although they weren’t truly introduced abruptly, but yet intrigued not only the jeepney drivers’ community but also the general public because they call for the abrupt total disappearance of our time-honored public utility vehicle.

All that said, when students already struggle with mobility coming to school, what more when the once-recognized “Hari ng Kalsada” are entirely gone?

“The Philippines can modernize, especially now that there is a solution that high officials are ignoring, thus there should be no phaseout of jeepneys. Even though there are solutions, they are pushing this problem as a dead end despite the fact that they can assist jeepney drivers. It has to do with transportation, which is a vital component of daily life for most people.” said 2nd year BSHM

There are other alternatives, so why do rid of the jeepneys when we can modernize them in such a way that we can keep the tradition of using them as a part of our culture? These decisions are stalled because the Filipino community has resisted the necessary change, for how would it benefit the poor? Is comfortable and safe the right solution?

98,801 of the 150,000 jeepneys that are planned for renovation have already been consolidated

100,000 DRIVERS

40,000 OPERATORS