The jeepney is the backbone of the Philippine transport system. The customised, privately owned buses, which look like a cross between a Jeep and a van and are decorated in flamboyant colours, ply routes in neighbourhood streets and city centres, offering rides for as little as 13 pesos (18p). They have featured in pop songs and films. Pope Francis even travelled through Manila in a jeepney-inspired popemobile.
The government has for years wanted to modernise the vehicles, which were built from repurposed US army Jeeps left over from the second world war and are known to chug out pollutants.
Operators - who own the jeepneys - and drivers have been told they must join corporations or cooperatives by today, and gradually replace their jeepneys with more environmentally friendly vehicles that have more safety features.
The government has said it will subsidise the new vehicles, and that cooperatives will be able to access loans. It also said the jeepneys would not be immediately withdrawn.
Esta historia es de la edición April 30, 2024 de The Guardian.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 30, 2024 de The Guardian.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Bayern mull shock reprieve for Tuchel as options tail off
Bayern Munich are prepared to perform a dramatic U-turn on Thomas Tuchel after encountering problems in their attempts to replace him.
Palmer's header leads Blues towards Europe
Perhaps Mauricio Pochettino is onto something after all? A fourth successive victory thanks to Cole Palmer's 27th goal of the season and another from substitute Christopher Nkunku was the latest indication that Chelsea's road to recovery is gathering pace despite a mindless late red card for captain Reece James.
Højlund comes off bench to settle see-saw battle
Manchester United are up to 57 points, the same as Newcastle United, who headed back to the north-east pondering precisely how they lost a toe-to-toe contest played out at breakneck speed.
Guardiola's nerves: 'I suffered from minute one'
Manchester City have come to embody clinical success, but emotion was everywhere during crucial win at Spurs
McIlroy returns to scene of last major win in form and untroubled by noise
World No 2 triumphed in Louisville in 2014 and goes into this year's tournament on the back of two victories
Raspberry Pi lifts London market with plans for UK flotation
The Cambridge-based technology company Raspberry Pi has confirmed its intention to float in the UK, in a significant boost to the London Stock Exchange.
Australia's richest woman calls on gallery to remove her portrait
The mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has demanded the National Gallery of Australia remove her portrait from an exhibition by the award-winning artist Vincent Namatjira.
Manhunt intensifies in France as officers killed in ambush named
Two French prison officers who were shot dead in an ambush that freed a convict linked to gangland drug killings were named yesterday, as police continued a massive hunt for the fugitive.
Georgia 'returning to the past', with anti-western law
Georgia is \"returning to the past\" through the new foreign agents law, the president of the former Soviet state said yesterday, as EU ministers urged the government to \"take a way out\".
Relations between Egypt and Israel worsen over Rafah
Israel and Egypt were embroiled in a diplomatic row over the Rafah border crossing yesterday amid warnings that Cairo could be planning to downgrade relations between the two countries.
