Jeepneys will be missed

I have always been an avid commuter, always. I’m not one of those college girls who drive to school with flashy cars or hire a chauffeur to wait outside the gate. No, the jeep has always been my best companion.

It was only in this semester where I have missed the jeep catching scheme when my father opted to bring me to university once or twice in the day. When he took a short absence, I jumped at the opportunity to ride a jeepney.

Approaching the lone jeepney stop from my abode, I noticed that jeepneys were rerouted. A new terminal was set up a few kilometers from where I stood which was put up by the new mall in our municipality. Students with plaid skirts and formal slacks were flocking to whatever jeep that stopped or they would be late.

During my travel to the city onboard the jeepney, I could not help but notice the driver’s laments. There was just too much on his plate as he was talking to the woman in the front seat – oil price hikes, hot weather, scheming traffic enforcers, nosy passengers, change to give, and a family to feed.

Could the Bus Rapid Transit solve all his problems? A jeepney driver said in a news report that this would worsen their situation. A big possibility of losing their job would equate with placing nothing on the table. No more jeep to drive, no more source of income.

It’s either a big slab of change or nothing at all.

Either way, there’s just so much to miss about these jeepneys once they’re erased from the main traffic scene. No more colorful vehicles, no more competition on who has the best overhead lights.

It does not only stop at aesthetics. A usual Cebuano routine would be disrupted. I could not imagine getting on a bus, standing with a multitude of people. It’s like we are slowly becoming like Manila.

There will be no more “Sikit-sikiti!” shouts from conductors. Even the jeepney rappers will be eliminated for good. They will all be silenced.

All these and more were going on in my head as I made my way into the city and transfer from one jeepney to another toward my destination.

Jeepneys have been mentioned in our lessons from the primary years until the collegiate level. It is part of what defines who we are. Imagine if the Americans didn’t come to the Philippines, the jeepneys wouldn’t have existed. These vehicles may just have been hand-me-downs from our foreign friends but these jeeps also have a historical impact on us. And it would be sad if these were removed from the streets.

There is so much clamor going on with the BRT scheme. Although the feasibility study is worth commending, wouldn’t it be better to take a step back first? Traffic has always been there. Blame private vehicles, not Public Utility Jeepneys (PUJ). We need them as much as you need your own cars and drivers too, by the way.

Now that the direction of the district’s representative is moving to the path of modernization, I savor the last few months of getting on and off this vehicle. Its more than tradition, it has been our lifestyle.