Buses, jeepneys, and tricycles - mass transit in the Philippines

The definition of travel is moving from one location to another. And I do love to travel.

Travel here on the island of Luzon in the Philippines is a different breed of cat. Yesterday I traveled about 240 miles from Vigan City to a beach near Olongopo.

Were I to plan a drive in Minnesota of 250 miles (about the distance from my home near Minneapolis to my home town of Sac City, Iowa, I'd plan on the trip taking under 4 hours. A short drive in my own car to the interstate then 70-75 mph the rest of the way. Other than road construction or bad weather, these trips are fast and uneventful. To the point of being boring.

The 240 mile trip yesterday took 11 hours.

I boarded a bus at 6am. AC, fairly comfortable seats, and on-going Philippine sit-coms playing on a large screen on the front of the bus made this one of the "luxury" liners. The first 8 hours consisted of this barge maneuvering two lane (or less) roads shared with trucks, jeepneys, tricycles (tuk-tuks), motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, the occasional water-buffalo drawn cart, and young children playing on the shoulders. The bus stopped at least every 15 minutes to load or discharge a passenger. Top speed - maybe 40 mph on the very few straight shots. It was often standing room only. 

I transferred buses at the Dau bus station, a mad house with probably 50 buses going in and out of the large parking area. I found and caught the bus to Olongopo without much difficulty. There were no empty seats since I was the last one on as the bus was leaving the station. Happily, a young woman moved her small son on to her lap and I took his seat. (I gave him a packet of candy and paid her $3 bus ticket to say thank you.) This bus was a Victory Liner - no AC, hard seats, no movies - but only a 1 hour drive along expressways. Thank goodness.

I believe the total cost of my tickets for the day was less than $10. 

Mass transit is the only means of getting from one place to another, it seems, for many of the locals. While small motorcycles are plentiful, outside of Manila, private cars are few and far between. While I rode a bus yesterday, I've also ridden in jeeneys (trucks with long beds that have two hard benches in them and no way I can tell where they are going), motorcycles with enclosed sidecars (tricycles or tuk-tuks) in which I can never get in to or out of without bumping my head or knees, taxis (expensive), and vans.  Manila has some kind of light rail but I've never figured it out. There are very few motor expressways in the country. Those have toll booths every 10 miles.

While riding with the locals may not be very comfortable or efficient, I love it. I enjoy watching the views from the window. I like hearing the chicken under the seat behind me squawk. I am fascinated by the vendors who jump on the buses with packets of nuts and banana chips for sale. Just figuring out how to make transfers from one mode of transport to the next can be an engaging puzzle. I have always found the Philippine people to be extremely generous in their help of this grandfatherly figure, getting him from place to place.

Why travel half way around the world and then travel like you would at home? Travel should always have a sense of movement to it. Plop in the seat of a jet plane, the sense of movement is virtually absent. But in a tuk-tuk, dodging dogs and chickens and landslides, you know you are moving.

Comments

[Tim Stahmer]

Love the stories and the photos from your travels, Doug. Thanks for sharing them with the rest of us. Hope you're enjoying a wonderful holiday and have a great new year.