The Anatomy of a Jeepney

One of the most staple occupations of mang pandoy is being the humbled "drayber" or a jeepney driver. Having a jeepney in the Philippines is as easy as going to a tiangge and asking for one, franchising a line and registering your newly acquired jeepney are the next steps and are quite accessible to the normal Filipino. To most pinoys a jeepney is the most common sight they will see when they want to go somewhere, it’s the number one mode of transportation in the Philippines. A common jeepney consists of a surplus diesel engine, 4th-5th gears, runs with about 10-12 MPG (miles per gallon). Originally from American jeeps in WWII and remodeled to accommodate 18-20 passengers and always with colorful decorations on its hood or crown, See more of Jeepneys. Mostly jeepneys run with open side panels or windows and passenger sits face-to-face. To ride a jeepney you can stop/call them on the road ensuring the route you're going is within the jeepneys destination and you can stop/descend by knocking on the jeeps ceiling-top or by calling on the driver. Normally minimal fare is from 1-3km from where you called them and adds a fee a kilometer after then.

From a normal pinoy childhood to adulthood he may ride a jeepney twice or more a day, making a jeepney profitable to some. One may complain from being exposed to too much heat and pollution. A jeepney ride is good for short destinations.

A jeepney in the Philippines as an alternative source of income is possible. Three (3) possibilities exist: being an owner/operator, a driver, or an owner/driver. Lets examine mang pandoys daily income from his pet job, we call jeepney as a unit:

Number of persons per unit: 18-20
Cost per person: Php 7.50 (first 3 km)
Average persons per km: 5.6 (estimated)
Average run hours: 8 hrs (estimated)

Average cost/boundary per hour: Php 50.00
Average daily run in hours: 14

Average daily boundary: Php 700.00

Average km run daily: 144 km (in 18-20 kph ave. run in a day considering traffic)
Pesos per diesoline: Php 36.12 (Ave Php 34.70-37.55, as of June 26, 2006)

Kilometer per liter: 5.1 (Ave. 12 MPG, conversion)
Liters diesoline daily: 28.23 Liters
Pesos for diesoline daily: Php 1,019.85

Pesos per unit daily: Php 2,016.00
Pesos for pandoy: Php 296.14

Amount per unit: Php 300K-350K (brand-new) / 100K-150K (second-hand)

We get Pesos for pandoy by subtracting Average daily boundary and Pesos for diesoline daily from Pesos per unit daily (estimated amount a unit earns daily). Pesos per unit daily are derived from dividing Cost per person (fare) by 3 (since we pay fare for first 3 km) and multiplying them from product of Average persons per km and Average km run daily. Average run hours are the average hours a unit is run to get fare. Average boundary varies from Php 45-60 per hour and with this in mind a simple pandoy can get some daily money to sustain themselves. As you can see pandoys income varies highly on the number of persons they can get for a kilometer ride (Average persons per km and Pesos for diesoline daily), change it a unit lower and an income for their selves deems problematic (a negative output) but change it a unit or even a couple of unit higher and the output is outrageous.

From a owner standpoint you need to manage expenses as daily maintenance of a jeepney could skyrocket in pesos as tires, parts, brake-clutch fluids, gear oils don't come cheap; from a driver standpoint with the current situation of jobs being a driver (single/unmarried) the daily amount earned could be good to survive; a driver/owner (with family) can get the best of both worlds and earn and sustain a simple life. A common draw back is driving 6-8 hours daily is not really advised for good health, besides driving skills; engine and mechanics know-how is a must. Most of the common jeepney drivers in the Philippines are (not) surprisingly from the slum areas, some even are informal settlers, and some makes the jeepney unit as their home. Driving licensure test in the Philippines for professional drivers are lax considering driving, medical, and psychological tests can be fixed by virtue, with this in mind the road in the Philippines can be deemed considered unsafe? On the bright side jeepneys for short destination could be useful and also to avoid being exposed to too much heat and pollution, but for the simple pandoys the jeepney is their number one means of transportation and income.

Common problems from a jeepney is emission of too much pollution, some diesel engines are ran in other countries in segregated areas, even in America the diesel engine problem are being discussed, An Analysis of Diesel Air Pollution. Commonly Jeeps and jeepneys are run by diesel engine, just like buses and trucks. Taxis and FX are alternative to jeepneys and are run with gasoline engines and can also be a good source of alternative income. The jeepneys existence in the Philippines has been discussed, for reason of overcrowding and cause of traffic bottlenecks, a lot of alternatives are commonly raised but fails to be implemented.

Lesson learned: it's good to be in the oil industry, as you can see its where all the money went! ;)