Jeepney strike aggravates our economic problems

First, a word on the history of the jeepneys. When they first appeared in our streets before the war, they were called auto calesas, meaning motorized calesas. Later, they were given the name jitney because that was the name of the cars that were converted to public transportation vehicles. After liberation, the name jitney became jeepney because it was the army jeeps that took place of the jitney cars. The usual decorations that you see on the side of jeeps were originally copied from the decorations on the side of the cascoes in the Pasig River.

The jeepney, as far as we know, is uniquely Filipino and probably our most popular form of mass transportation. Its main advantage over the light railway train and the big buses is that it stops just where the passenger wants to get on or step down. The light railway can only stop in stations, the big buses only in corners.

Last Tuesday, we wrote about two big tragedies that were causing developed nations to warn their citizens from travelling to our shores. But the problem of the day became the jeepney strike that paralyzed 10 percent of Metro Manila. We don’t know if that strike was legal. Jeepney drivers are given a franchise to operate and that gives them the obligation to provide public transportation in their designated areas. But we will leave that matter to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to decide.

In Metro Manila, the minimum fare is P4.00. The strikers, we believe, were demanding an increase of P1.00 to P1.50. The basis for their demand is that gasoline prices have increased since the P4.00 minimum fare was imposed. There may be a basis for their demand because now they give the very same service but receive less because of the increase in the cost of car fuel. It is a question that should be settled fairly. But a strike is too radical a step because it literally affects practically every office worker and the majority of the students in Metro Manila.

LTFRB Chairman Maria Elena Bautista is right when she said, "Abandonment of their route and paralyzing public transportation are violations of the franchise system." The law must prevail and the law prevails when all parties concerned get justice. We just want to remind the drivers who went on strike that it is the commuters that suffered when they went on strike and it is the commuters to whom they owe their livelihood. Without commuters, we would have no public jeepneys.

We want to commend certain sectors who took steps to alleviate the commuter’s plight. The Light Railway Transit Line 2 from Marikina to Cubao offered free transportation to the stranded commuters while the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority suspended color coding during the strike. Malacañang utilized the presidential convoy to transport stranded passengers on the Quiapo-Cubao route. Many private car owners accommodated commuters who were going to the same route. Problems and disasters should bring out the best in us. They should be seen as opportunities to be of help.