End of the road? Jeepneys face uncertain future

MANILA, Philippines — The first jeepneys rolled onto the streets of the Philippines just after World War II -- noisy, smoke-belching vehicles initially made from leftover US Jeeps that became a national symbol.

Seven decades later, the colourfully decorated vehicles face an existential threat from a plan to replace them with modern mini-buses.

Easy to fix and cheap to ride, the vehicles grew in size and length to become the backbone of the country's transport system, carrying passengers, goods and even visiting popes.

But the government's plan to phase out jeepneys in an effort to modernize the country's chaotic public transport network has put the future of the iconic vehicles in doubt.

"It was a heavy blow," Leonard Sarao, operations supervisor of jeepney maker Sarao Motors, told AFP.

Sarao Motors was one of the first companies to produce jeepneys after founder Leonardo Sarao Sr gave up driving horse-drawn buggies to make motorised public transport in the early 1950s.

Production at the family-owned company's sprawling facility in the capital Manila peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, with workers making 50 to 60 jeepneys per month.

Demand began to fall over the following decades as other transport options became available. By 2014, Sarao Motors was producing as few as 10 jeepneys per month.

But it was the government's launch of the jeepney phase-out program in 2017 that slammed the brakes on production.

The now drastically downsized workforce produces one jeepney every four to six months, said Sarao, the grandson of Sarao Sr.

"We've had customers that have been around since the '50s, so they've been purchasing jeepneys, making their fleet bigger," said Sarao, 31.

"With this new program there have been a lot of doubts or fears that if they purchase a brand new jeepney will they still be able to use it a couple of years down the road?"

While Sarao Motors can produce modern jeepneys that meet the government's environmental and safety specifications, they are "three to four times the price of a traditional jeepney", Sarao said.

In the seven years since the phase-out program was launched there have been multiple delays in its implementation due to protests and Covid-19.