Jeepney Journey on Manila's 'Avenue of Death'
May 13, 2016 8:30 PM   Subscribe

"This is what rush hour in Manila looks like: a Mad Max-style ride down Fury Road aboard vehicles with names like "Cold Fusion" and "Soldier of Fortune." First hacked together more than 70 years ago and manufactured nowhere else outside the Philippines, the ageless, endlessly patched jeepney is both an icon of national ingenuity and testament to its utterly dysfunctional public transportation. Filipinos affectionately refer to them as the "Kings of the Road," with a mixture of pride and eye-rolling resignation."
posted by veedubya (9 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
I road one from Olongapo to Baguio. My advice is to sit at the back, its much better to watch what you've survived than what's coming.
posted by ridgerunner at 9:59 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


As part of the work I was doing in rural IloIlo in the Visayas back in spring of 2009, I got to interview an owner/operator who was my hostess' cousin's husband. She owned the vehicle, he ran it. Its not just prevalent in Manila, but provides inter regional transport within population clusters in the rural regions across teh islands as well.

In the 30 kilometre stretch between the barangay of Gines Patag where I was at, and the main city on the island, IloIlo City, there were a handful of associations who divided the route between them. So Abanjo, for instance, had purchased an entry into the Cabatuan - Santa Barbara sector, and was not permitted to enter the city itself.

The routes are closed to randoms and n00bs, and are highly competitive. There were also far too many vehicles, he complained, and volatile fuel prices made it a hard life. I'll come back later with some pics.
posted by infini at 11:43 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]


Here you go - Pretty Boy towards the end had a flat, and you can see he had to do all the work himself. There was no internet at Fe's homestead. I played a lot of solitaire for the couple of weeks I lived with her. The lizards on the ceiling (there was a 6 inch gap between the roof and the wall for air circulation) were the size of puppies. Urgh.

I also shared some pics of motorcycle mods that I saw in the region.
posted by infini at 3:43 AM on May 14, 2016 [3 favorites]


They need to learn the zipper merge
posted by TedW at 4:28 AM on May 14, 2016 [2 favorites]


We used to ride jeepneys regularly from the navy base at subic bay through olongapo, ostensibly to get a "haircut" at a place just outside the city. My longest ride in one was from olongapo to angeles city (clark air base) to fly home to the states. About 4 hours, I think.

Always harrowing, always entertaining, they are one of my most fond memories of the phillipines. You can't get closer to the people there than riding in a jeepney.

From a societal perspective, yeah, the phillipine government should do something about them, but on a personal level I kinda hope they don't.
posted by disclaimer at 5:57 AM on May 14, 2016 [4 favorites]


infini, your first link is borked.
posted by merelyglib at 7:34 AM on May 14, 2016


Here is the link that was there, merelyglib
posted by infini at 9:43 AM on May 14, 2016


One of my all-time favorite food truck foods is called the Jeepney so it's great to finally get the context behind the name.

I've ridden in essentially the same thing in various tropical countries (the Filipino ones just have more flair, as anyone who's met folks from those islands would guess) and it's always an adventure. Open windows, open doors, the choking smell of exhaust, the very homegrown carpet and decorations, the rock-bottom prices, and all around you the heat and humidity and traffic.
posted by librarylis at 3:10 PM on May 14, 2016 [1 favorite]


awesome pics, infini!
posted by bitteroldman at 8:07 PM on May 14, 2016 [1 favorite]


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