Quote Originally Posted by mbt
personally, i think they should really start seriously phasing out jeepneys (and especially tricycles) in manila already and seriously planning for efficient future mass transit. what worked in the 1950's doesnt cut it in 2005 anymore.
My thoughts exactly. But then, aside from politicians chasing the votes of drivers, we've got those purist "nationalist" fanatics who would take any jeepney phase-out proposal by the scruff of its neck in the name of "national identity" and "Filipino ingenuity".

The jeepneys were ingenious. Half a century ago, they were... when everything we had was obliterated by the war. It should have served as a temporary mass transit system before we could establish a proper one. But today, the jeepney is no longer ingenious and is only dirty, noisy, inefficient and uncomfortable.

Another problem with our mass transit system is that it's very disorganized. We have jeepneys, FXs, and buses. The way they work as mass transportation is basically the same, and in some cases two or three of them overlap routes (or ply almost exactly the same routes)! What's the use having ALL of them if they're just going to be redundant?

If we should really keep the jeepneys to preserve "national identity", how about the A/C jeepneys then? I'm sure you're familiar with them. Those big jeeps with the bus-style door, bus-style seats, bus-style A/C... they're technically small buses that look like jeepneys.