Andre Daniel Javier 11308907

A Slice of Jeepney Life

I always take the jeepney every time I go to different places.
Whenever my destination is not located near the LRTs/MRTs, the jeepney is
my go-to-car. Even though I have heard a lot of stories regarding on the
negative things when they ride jeepneys, I still prefer taking the jeep
because it is very affordable for a college student like me. There are some
stories that I have witnessed myself that made me more aware of my
surroundings due to that event. The jeepneys have lived up to their
reputation as the king of the road in the Philippines. They are the kings,
literally. Jeepney drivers would rather stop in the middle of the road just to
wait for passengers who are still far from the jeepney. Every time I take the
Sta.Ana-P.Faura route when I go to school, there are some locations along the
way that jeepney drivers will just standby in the middle of the road. Some
drivers do not care at all because they stop in the middle of the road. Due to
that, traffic build up is always evident in our area. If you havent passed by to
Onyx St. by jeep, you are one lucky person. Passing by Onyx St. is one of the
problems that my family and I face whenever we take the route of Pedro Gil
when we go home.
Instead of taking the LRT-1 when I arrive at Pedro Gil, I take the
jeepney again as my means of transport. There are periods that I only spend
10 minutes of travel time when I take the jeep from Pedro Gil to Vito Cruz.
This route became very efficient because of the bus ban that was
implemented by the Manila government. As I was seated beside the driver, I
noticed two hawkers that are selling bottled water along Nakpil St. I always
wonder why are they always there everyday? Different vendors, different
place of vending, but they sell the same product? If you ever pass by
Security Bank near Nakpil St., you will understand what I am saying. I would
like to add here in my reflection paper that I witnessed a snatching incident
along Pedro Gil St. last December at around 8 in the evening. The mood of all
the people inside the jeepney became passive as we saw the snatcher took

Andre Daniel Javier 11308907

her cell phone while she was texting. After the event, I realized I should not
let my guard down, and always be aware of your surroundings.