Jeepney Photo by worldwide.projects

Jeepney's, originally uploaded by worldwide.projects.

"Like an automotive phoenix, the jeepney rose from the ashes of Manila at the end of the Second World War. After Japan's surrender in 1945, the U.S. military began sending millions of American servicemen home to their peacetime lives. Much of their surplus equipment stayed in the Pacific, however. In Manila, which had been leveled when the Americans retook the city street by street from the Japanese, the U.S. Army sold or simply gave away a huge number of surplus jeeps to local Filipinos.

Manila's transportation infrastructure had been destroyed in the fighting, so entrepreneurial Filipinos began using these surplus jeeps as share taxis. Drivers soon began painting their olive-drab jeeps in a bright rainbow of peacetime colors designed to grab the attention of potential passengers. Drivers added metal roofs to ward off the sun and rain; they extended the rear of their vehicles in order to crowd more people aboard. An entire range of accessories followed-chrome hood ornaments, ear-shattering airhorns, religious icons and flashing multicolored lights. Manilenos suddenly realized that an entirely new sort of vehicle had been born in their war-ravaged city.

Fifty-seven years after the Second World War ended with a double atomic bang, jeepneys are still hauling passengers throughout the Philippines. Though these sturdy machines face increasing competition from more modern sedan and minivan taxis, jeepneys remain the backbone of public transportation. Many jeepneys operate in the Metro Manila area, but a large number also ply jungle back roads as well. Unlike a bus or minivan, a jeepney can handle a muddy country track with ease."

"The Jeepney: Automotive Icon of the Philippines" By Steven K. Bailey

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