Athea Jane M.

Santos
XI - Plato

Jeepney Modernization

For decades,bustling streets of Manila, a symbol of Filipino culture and resiliency that has
been a vital part of every Filipino’s daily life—the jeepnney. With its bright decorations, loud
horns, and common seats, the jeepney has become the pride of the nation, reflecting the
Filipino spirit and acting as a lifeline for millions of Filipinos as their primary mode of public
transit. In recent years, the Philippine transportation sector has encountered a difficult issue
that has attracted major discussion and divided opinions: the jeepney modernization
program. The Jeepney modernization program was introduced as a solution to a wide range
of issues, including environmental sustainability, passenger safety, and traffic congestion.
Innovation will not improve the transportation crisis but will just cause inconvenience to
Drivers and commuters.Modernization at the present time will be an inconvenience and will
contribute to the transportation crisis.

Modernization will present us another model of Jeepneys which is far from the jeepneys
Filipinos has created that has played been a huge part in our culture. According to Mendoza
(2021) Jeepneys are product of Filipinos creativity and resourcefulness of hardworking
mechanics after the World War II. It also symbolizes not only Filipino culture and ingenuity
but symbolises Filpinos resilience. The goal of this modernization effort is to eliminate
smoke-belching jeepneys, which contribute to air pollution by emitting roughly 40 kg of
carbon dioxide per day. However, Metro Manila has just 73,000 jeepneys compared to 2.5
million vehicles and only over 300,000 Jeepneys are present across the country, out of a
total of 12.75 million vehicles.

It cost much more than a private vehicle. Even if the drivers or operators save up enough
money to transfer to an upgraded jeepney, the cost is still too high for their existing salaries.
Even with the Department of Transportation's (DOTr, 2023) projected subsidy of $160,000,
the cost of the modernized jeepney would increase to 2.8 million, which is far too expensive.
Only 6% of the overall cost of the contemporary model is represented by this amount. The
expense of the modern-day jeepney is out of reach for jeepney drivers, whose daily earnings
typically only amount to a few hundred pesos. This contemporary jeepney is advanced...but
it is too advanced for our economy.
Due to the features and price of the modern jeepney that will replace traditional jeepneys,
the fare rates for commuting on this modernized jeepney is expected to increase. People
would rather ride traditional jeepneys because they are significantly more affordable and
practical than riding in buses or other types of public transportation. This has already
occurred year on 2022 according to Dela Cruz (2022) where it was stated that the LTFRB
said there will be a fare increase he minimum fare will increase by PHP1 for the first four
kilometers, or PHP12 for traditional PUJs and PHP14 for modern PUJs.

Therefore, At the moment, modernizing public utility vehicles is inconvenient especially for
drivers and commuters. It will take a long time for to adapt and accumulate resources to
deal with the innovation that could occur in the future. As we are still recorvering with the
pandemic and debts, enough is made by jeepney drivers to support their families. The
optimum time to implement modernity is not now especially as everyone is struggling to
afford basic essentials.

References
Baroña, J. C. (2023, March 8). Govt to hike subsidy for drivers. The Manila Times.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/03/08/news/national/govt-to-hike-subsidy-for-driver
s/1881727
Fare increase for jeepneys. (2022). ″ - Wiktionary.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1183909?__cf_chl_tk=bf2Q077oBREmPGf8TDWTYI
JFeKXKNRh1FQY.L2dglgw-1686250438-0-gaNycGzNDDs
Mendoza, T. C. (2021). Addressing the “blind side” of the government’s jeepney
“modernization” program.
https://cids.up.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/UP-CIDS-Discussion-Paper-2021
-02.pdf
Statista. (2023, January 31). Philippines: average daily traffic Metro Manila by vehicle type
2021. Statista. Retrieved June 9, 2023, from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1262359/philippines-average-daily-traffic-metro-ma
nila-by-vehicle-type/