A commuter’s take on modernizing the jeepney
THE good old jeepney has been for decades now giving commuters the advantage of affordable transportation around Metro Manila and other major cities in the Philippines. It was an invention borne out of the Filipino’s ingenuity in transforming US Army surplus jeeps into reliable and cheap-to-maintain public transportation units. For decades, the jeepney has become the face of Manila, a tourism icon that, however, has evolved into an environmental hazard with questionable safety standards.
With 180,000 of these derelicts rolling around the country, the government has seen it fit to modernize this beloved Filipino innovation. The Duterte administration thus initiated the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, which aims to modernize the jeepney. At the onset, it sparked numerous protests among jeepney drivers and transport groups, criticizing it for being “anti-poor.”
Despite the backlash, two manufacturers have cooperated with the government to help keeping costs low while providing better ride quality and fuel efficiency, and keeping emissions as low as possible. Manufacturers such as Hino and Isuzu have provided public utility vehicle prototypes in accordance to the program in late 2017, and these were further developed to be ready for use later this year, with the latter launching its new PUV for the Senate Employees Transport Service Cooperative (SETSCO), the first to be operated under the program.
In order to keep up with rising emissions standards, the new PUVs are powered by four- cylinder engines that are Euro4 compliant, the minimum requirement for new vehicles. Isuzu’s, based on their QKR light truck platform, will be powered with their new 4JH1-TC engine found in most commercial vehicles in its lineup, while Hino’s utilizes its diesel N04C engine that is also found in its 300 series trucks. Amenities, such as air- conditioning, security cameras, and Beep card scanners were also included, while Hino also made a non-air- conditioned version for its Class 2 PUV. Even though these technologies may significantly increase fare rates, the addition of such amenities makes it worth every single peso considering the additional parts to be serviced.
While it may kill the look of the jeepneys we are all familiarized with, the new PUV still serves its purpose as a vehicle for public transport just as the current jeepneys did.