Modes of Transportation In The Philippines

POSTED ON JUNE 27, 2017

In the Philippines, there are a few interesting means of transportation, besides of course walking by foot and driving a car. We don’t recommend renting a car to move about because the driving style in the Philippines is quite aggressive and would not want foreigners putting their lives at risk. Drivers in the Philippines have their own system of driving, which we could not understand nor would want to take the hassle of finding a place to rent a car. The cities are often crowded and some businesses are hard to find. Furthermore, at a low cost, you can move around anywhere using the following means of transportation: a Jeepney, Bus, Tricycle, Pajak-Pajak, and by Boat.

 

Jeepney

Jeepneys are the most popular means of transportation in the Philippines. After World War II, the locals turned the leftover U.S. military jeeps into jeepneys to use as taxis or minibuses, or for personal use. This became a convenient transportation and soon everyone wanted a jeep for commercial or personal use. They are beautifully decorated in stainless steel and show the artistic side of the owners of the vehicles. Many proudly label their jeepneys with their family name. Some have different color lights, flashy designs, blaring music, and wifi available. Most jeepneys can hold up to 15 people, including the driver and his partner who collects the trip fare. Found on the sides of the jeepney are the routes at which each jeepney travels through. Jeepneys are usually crowded so beware of pickpockets! We loved riding jeepneys. It was cheap, convenient, and fun to have this available to us and we recommend you giving it a chance.

 

Bus

Buses are huge and cost a lot more than jeepneys. Most of these buses are either air conditioned or have their door open during travel to make picking up passengers a quicker process and for ventilation. Just like any bus, legroom should not be a problem. From time to time, the local buses will allow commercial vendors to sell their foods. The first time we used a bus, a vendor sold a few balut or duck embryo to several of the passengers. Passengers definitely care about getting their protein at any opportunity!

 

Tricycle

A tricycle is a motorcycle with an attached sidecar. The tricycle can hold a total of 4 people, including the operator. Some operators push the passenger limit in order to make more money off the trip. The tricycle is colorfully decorated much like the Jeepney. The travel experience is often bumpy and noisy because of the tricycle’s small four stroke engine. We used it for a short distance and it was a fun experience.

 

Pajak-Pajak
A pajack should only be used at close distances. This form of transportation is a bicycle with a side cart. The operator is literally foot pedaling to your destination. The cost of these bicycles is about P10 pesos for about a mile-long trip.

 

Boat

Majority of boats found in the Philippines are fisherman type boats. The boats’ small engines are loud and the boats have long bamboo stalks attached to the sides for stability purposes. We got to ride boats while island hopping and we had a great experience.