It is only in the Philippines where you can find jeepneys and tricycle rides as mode of public transportation. A jeepney originated from a military jeep which was extended at the back to accommodate additional passengers to be seated side by side. A tricycle is another form of Filipino ingenuity where a motorcycle is installed with a sidecar to create a additional room for 2 more people.
The jeep which could only carry 5 people including the driver can now carry as much as 22 passengers, the motorcycle on the other hand which could carry 2 people can now carry 5 people. Isn't this amazing?
It is amazing but not so impressive. In the past, it was a real accomplishment for the pinoy to have worked around the limitations of his technology by creating the jeepney. Limited technology is the key why this jeepney concept cannot pick up international recognition in terms of vehicle standard. Although the jeepney has somehow carved an identity as originally Filipino, but it could not bring prosperity to the Philippines as a whole. It will just remain an icon for art and beauty, a thing ideal for display in showcasing Filipino art. It cannot at all become a new age help.
The Sarao jeep factory made a fortune manufacturing these simple machines until they went bankrupt a few years ago. The family enterprise which all started as a backyard activity have become a staple name for jeepney manufacturing nationwide. Came the national crisis where all major factories have struggled to survive, the Sarao company never pulled up. Realizing from the shallow foundation of the jeepney concept, it would really be difficult for the company to rise in the middle of the crisis because it could venture internationally.
Here comes the tricycle, an improvised motorcycle. Have you tried riding on an open ferry's wheel without safety feature, no belts, no locks and just plain ride? That is the tricycle! You will definitely grow goose bumps as big vehicles pass by your tricycle while your tricycle pretends to be a big vehicle when in fact it is just a motorcycle. Tricycles are advantageous to those who don't have any means of transportation at all. It is common in the Philippines that the main roads are plied by jeepneys while the small arteries are for tricycle. Arteries are small roads connecting the main roads to small villages and barangays. Just be careful however in hiring some of them, they charge exorbitant fees ( as expensive sometime to a brand new taxi ride).
While other countries are focusing on improvements, new inventions and technologies, my country is degenerating. We are growing backwards! I told you about the tricycle which evolved from a motorcycle, we have something more to share...the “padyak” (pedal), it is a pedaled tricycle. Funny as it may seem but it is true.
How can my country progress in the new millennium when until now we still patronize this primitive livelihood approach? The government even encourages our people to venture in these businesses because probably by sheer numbers, this is where incumbent officials can get their votes in the next election. Their population counts by the millions nationwide by the way. Prosperity is difficult for the tricycle drivers involved because they are settle with their meager income and waste man hours waiting for passengers in their terminals as they queue in between rush hours. Many factory workers whose hands are busy producing during the day, while these drivers lay idle to wait for the factory workers to come home and commission the idle driver to send them home.
The jeepney and tricycle drivers and operators can only see their plight, and that is the picture they see. The government could have seen the bigger picture to help these poor people improve, but they opt not to show them the better option. There is little money in tricycle business. There is little growth in the jeepney business. All it can contribute is pollution and votes...now do I now see the better light on why they continue to persist? Pollution is definitely not the reason...
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