The jeepneys of the Philippines refuse to pull over
Plans for better transport are idling
THE JEEPNEYS of the Philippines are at once a national treasure and a dirty menace. When American troops went home in 1946, they left behind hundreds of military jeeps. Filipinos fitted them with benches, daubed them with gaudy illustrations and began charging commuters for lifts around town. The originals have now mostly been scrapped, but jerry-rigged replicas remain the most common way for people without cars to navigate big cities. They outnumber buses roughly ten to one.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Not so fast”
From the April 30th 2022 edition
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