In the World of Jeepneys

What is a jeepney? What does it look like? How do you ride one? These questions frequently fill the minds of many foreigners—such as ourselves—who do not have the privilege of experiencing this kind of transportation everyday.

Because jeepneys are the most common and cheapest form of public transportation in the Philippines, they dominate almost every street and highway. Yes, taxis and buses do exist, but jeepneys still remain the most common way for the average Filipino to get around.


The history of this Filipino transportation began after WWII when the Filipinos recycled and changed the American wartime jeeps into the transportation vehicles that Jeepneys are today. Some steps of transformation to these jeeps included extending the rear to accommodate several passengers (about 16-20), adding a metal roof to protect from the sun and the rain, and decorating the exterior with colorful paintings and symbols with hopes of luring potential passengers.


Because so many jeepneys cover the streets through each city, the Filipino government has placed certain restrictions on the drivers, such as regular routes and fixed fares of 7 pesos (about 10-20 cents) per kilometer. Similar to many buses, each jeepney has a regular route that it constantly drives.

How do you know where a certain jeepney will be stopping or where exactly its route around town goes? Thankfully, each jeepney has its destination routes written on the side of the vehicle. So, all you would need to do is find a jeepney with the desired street or destination written on its exterior, flag it down (or walk out to it if the traffic has stopped), climb onboard, pay the fare, and enjoy the ride! As you near the desired destination, simply knock on the roof or holler “Para!” to stop the driver.


While our family was in Baguio City last week, we experienced our first Jeepney ride. Since the other Texas Instruments families also wanted to ride this Filipino transportation, Dad rented one for the whole group. So, you could say that we had our own private jeepney for a day!:-) Although we did not ride it with other strangers or pay individually–like normal jeepney rides, we still experienced a taste of how it felt to ride this vehicle. :-)

During our time in Baguio, we actually had the privilege of riding the jeepney not only once but twice during the weekend. Our first ride was at dusk, which made the ride very exciting because the jeepney was all lit up—inside and out. The colorful lights that illumined the inside of our jeepney allowed us to talk to everyone and see their excited faces as we drove through the dark night. Our second jeepney ride took us to a shopping market and then to a friend’s house for the evening. We enjoyed every moment!:-)

As we drove through the streets and suburbs of Baguio, the jeenpey’s unique horn would sound to warn oncoming traffic of our approach. Every now and then, the bars hanging from the ceiling came in handy as we grabbed onto them to prevent from sliding onto the person next to us (or out the back door!) as our driver overtook occasional hills of curves.


As we experienced our jeepney rides, we were reminded of how this vehicle’s history relates to our spiritual lives. Just as the Filipinos took something old and useless and turned it into something colorful and useful for their country and community, Jesus also takes our lives and transforms us from our old and sinful selves into something new and useful for His Kingdom.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17