Philippine drivers say paying US$50,000 for new e-jeepneys ‘will be death of us’
- Transport groups have accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr of forgetting his election pledge to prevent a ‘total phase-out’ of the iconic vehicles
- Opponents of the modernisation scheme say no driver can afford to buy an e-jeepney, while others question the speed of scrapping roadworthy vehicles
Several thousand drivers are on a week-long strike beginning Monday to protest against the removal of all diesel-powered vehicles, which have for decades been the most popular form of public transport since they were modified and reproduced from US military jeeps left behind after World War II.
Mar Valbuena, leader of 15,000-strong transport group Manibela (Steering Wheel), said the government’s modernisation exercise “will be the death of us. It means we will no longer have any livelihood”.
There was no way jeepney drivers, who belonged to the poorest sector of society, could afford to buy an e-jeepney running on a lithium battery at the cost of 2.8 million pesos (US$51,000) per unit, with a 6 per cent yearly interest rate, he said.
“Why do we need to go into debt if our jeepneys are still roadworthy?” he asked.
During a campaign stop in March 2022, Marcos Jnr had told transport leaders he was not in favour of a “total phase-out” of jeepneys, saying the government “should not look at the age of the vehicle but its condition; how well it is maintained”.