Streets of the Philippines: Transportation

Philippines is a rather small country but has a population of over 104 million people – and these people have got to get around. With that many peoples and almost as much vehicles you can imagine that the traffic is rather horrendous. This is why may of the citizens prefer motorbikes, however, they are only suitable for 2 people. If you want to bring your family along you are going to need a side car, or as they are known in the Philippines – tricycles.

The most common tricycles can sit 4 passengers; 3 in the side car and 1 behind the driver on the bike. Tricycles can be for private or public use. It is a cost-effective way to travel in and out of town, you have room for your bag(s) and have the possibility to tie more belongings to the roof of the side car.

Having said this, if you want the cheapest choice of transportation you would have to choose to ride a jeepney. Jeepneys are also the most famous mode of transportation in the Philippines. Jeepneys are essentially like buses but have a fixed rate per person versus distance. There are also no bus stops you can stop to get on and off a jeep at any point along the route. The hardest part is remembering/ figuring what jeeps go where (it’s much easier to figure it out at a jeep terminal because then you will get a chance to ask the driver while they are waiting for customers before their journey begins).

Jeepney pictured by @maganda.morenita

Original jeepneys (Dyipne) were refurbished military jeeps, now they can be produced via a large volume manufacturer or ‘backyard builders’ who produce 1-5 vehicles a month. Jeepneys became so important because it was a way the Philippines was able to move forward after World War 2. After most American troops left the islands, there was a surplus of military jeeps that they didn’t need and so was sold to the Filipinos for cheap or free. They were then refurbished and re-purposed the vehicles were also decorated with bold and bright colours which became a famous and encouraged art form. Jeeps are gasoline guzzlers and not good for the environment, in Manila there many jeepneys which are now electric but electric is expensive in the Philippines and there for unsustainable for the owner. The Public Utility Vehicle Modernisation Programme launched in 2017 will have Jeepneys phased out by 2020.

The current statistic is that 83% of the roads in the Philippines are paved while 17% are unpaved but many of the paved roads are paved poorly which are easily destroyed during earthquakes, and landslides. Many roads are in constant repair. Each election season bring in new bills to correct roads but with rainy season 6 months year roads are left mid construction for months. In rural and mountainous areas many of the roads/ paths are difficult to get to… unless you are a carabao.

Carabaos are hardworking and strong; they can pull a Karatela (rig) that can carry more than 6 people. It is especially efficient for families that already own the animal for manual farm labour.

There are 7,641 islands that make up the Philippines. To get from mainland to mainland or from small collection of islands to another small collection of islands you are going to need to fly a plane.

There are 12 international airports and over 20 domestic and community airports so you can get to all the tourist destinations easily. Although for most tourist destinations once you get off the plane, you’re still going to need to ride a boat (Bangka). Some islands are too small to have airports. For inter-island transportation/ island hopping the best option would be to use Pump boats (Bangka).

Now if you wanted to travel from one side of the island to the other, e.g. northern Luzon to Manila, you would have to take a bus. Busses are what we in the UK would consider a coach. They do long journeys stopping in many towns and cities along the way.

The long journeys on the bus sounds uncomfortable but for someone who has had taken many early morning bus rides from Baguio to Manila (5/6-hour journeys) It can be quite enjoyable. The bus terminals, including the stop over has the best snacks (which we will talk more about next week) and there is a lot more leg room than your think. And if you are lucky you get to watch a movie 😊.

So thus ends my compilation of different modes of transport in the Philippines.

Do you think you can navigate the roads of the Philippines? I'm not sure I could.

We are still talking about Streets of the Philippines for the rest of September, so stay updated or submit your own take on the theme on our IG @malyaritribe.