Jeepney Everyday

Dyipni by Neenun Benitez

Epicurus says that for one to be happy one has to be just and wise; to be wise, happy and just; and, to be just, wise and happy. Happiness. Justice. Wisdom. Three ideals, states of the mind, world philosophies, and characters that are quite easier said than done... but they can be done.

A jeepney ride is the cheapest mode of transportation for any Taclobanon. In my case, I take a jeepney ride going to school and coming home. I pay P9.00 each time- a very affordable amount in exchange for the philosophical interplays I witness and the time of reprieve between destinations.

Each time I ride a jeepney, I see how happiness, wisdom, and justice interplay in the lives of people- strangers and sometimes familiar faces who at that point are my acquaintances by chance and necessity. There is justice as each passenger pays his or fare without being prompted by the driver; and, the driver stops at the nearest destination advantageous to the passengers. There are times when the driver overcharges the passenger and immediately it is settled by a swift, "Mano, tikang la ako may Coca-Cola," and the former giving back to the latter the extra peso or fifty centavos. There are cases too when the driver returns extra centavos and the passenger without much ado gives them back to him and saying, "Mano, sobra im sukli." Between them comes the other passengers who serve as carriers of the extra or lacking change and at the same time mediators of justice who either side with the driver or the concerned passenger without any bias at all and just have fair fare as their guide. The driver exercises wisdom in deciding whether to take passenger in or not and the same with the passenger whether to take the offered ride or not. When a passenger says, "Mano, may St. Paul's ako," the driver would say "Maliko ngadto LNU,"; right there on the passenger decides with wisdom whether to take or not the jeepney ride. There is happiness because everyone is in a state of suspension from all their points of departure and destination. Nobody is disallowed to take the ride because of civil status, sexual orientation, color, economic status, body mass, fashion taste or whatever superficial standards. Nobody is given preference in terms of seat space; everyone is expected to pay the amount equitable to the space occupied. In fact there are even cases when the driver exercises pro bono when someone does not have enough fare or when someone gets off because he left something- all these decisions made in quick seconds. The driver ensures the happiness of the passengers by barring those who might wreck it such as drunk and unruly prospective passengers by simply saying, "Pasensya mano."

With the perfect balance achieved, the jeepney is filled with contented quiet and the humming sound of silent individual thoughts. The sharers of the space treat each other with equal respect.  The destinations are reached without hassle. No angry passengers who are late for work or school because the driver has to stop for gasoline. No disgruntled passengers because of rowdy neighbors. It is almost bliss.

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Jeepney Everyday

I take a jeepney ride in going to work and coming home; and, I pay P9.00 each time. I take a jeepney ride when I go to parties or gathering with friends, meetings with colleagues, and utility companies to settle the bills; and, I pay at least P7.50. A jeepney ride may be the cheapest mode of transportation for any Taclobanon but it houses treasures of philosophical interplays and reprieves between destinations shared amongst strangers and sometimes familiar faces who at the point of convergence inside a jeepney are acquaintances by chance and necessity.

Each passenger pays his or fare without being prompted by the driver; and, the driver stops at the nearest destination advantageous to the passengers. There are times when the driver overcharges the passenger and immediately it is settled by a swift, "Mano, tikang la ako may Coca-Cola," and the former giving back to the latter the extra peso or fifty centavos. There are cases too when the driver returns extra centavos or a peso and the passenger without much ado gives them back to him and saying, "Mano, sobra im sukli." Between them come the other passengers who serve as carriers of the extra or lacking change and at the same time mediators; they side either with the driver or the concerned passenger without any bias at all and just have fair fare as their guide.

Nobody is disallowed to take the ride because of civil status, sexual orientation, color, economic status, body mass, fashion taste or whatever superficial standards. Nobody is given preference in terms of seat space; everyone is expected to pay the amount equitable to the space occupied. In fact there are even cases when the driver exercises pro bono when someone does not have enough fare or when someone gets off because he left something- all these decisions made in quick seconds. There are instances when the driver keeps on taking in more passengers in order to reach the quota seating capacity even when there is no space anymore but this is immediately rectified by simply saying, “Mano, puno na.” When there are passengers who knock on the roof to signal that they want to get off even if the next stop is a just a few meters away, the driver would say, “Unhan la kay bawal didi.”

The driver exercises expert discernment whether to take passenger in or not and the same with the passenger too as to whether to take the offered ride or not. When a passenger says, "Mano, may St. Paul's ako," the driver would say "Maliko ngadto LNU," and right there on the passenger decides whether to take or not the jeepney ride. Even when the driver fails to refuel before he started his route resulting to a stop or two at gasoline stations passengers do not complain; and, when a passenger wears a strong perfume that causes nasal congestion the other passengers do not breathe a word of irritation at all.

Inside the jeepney, everyone looks at each other without seeing each other. The jeepney is filled with silent individual thoughts. The thoughts are either at rest or occupied by the minute details of daily routines, fantasies, and even dreams of life ahead. In a jeepney, a working woman with her children hurrying for school and work is in equal state of suspension from all her points of departure and destination as much as a man who is going home from his night job as a security officer. There is that shared lull of peace where everything about life seems to stand still. The driver ensures that this is sustained by barring those who might wreck it such as a drunk or unruly prospective passenger by simply saying, "Pasensya mano."