A local company that has been building jeepneys for 76 years is taking the "King of the Road" to the modern age with its iconic look intact. From diesel-fueled jeepneys, Francisco Motor Corp. (FMC) plans to shift to assembling public utility vehicles (PUVs) with electric motors that retain the jeepney's traditional design.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) went full catamite in the face of a threatened transport strike by activist jeepney drivers, set to begin tomorrow, March 6.

The traditional jeepneys are no longer the “kings of the road” in Cebu City as the Jeepney Task Force (JTF) notes a significant drop of jeepneys plying the streets as compared to the pre-pandemic days.

The jeepney drivers and operators group Piston says it is ready for the eased social distancing protocols in the public transport sector, as it claims to consistently follow minimum health measures set by the Department of Transportation (DOTr). They are easing the minimum social distancing requirement in public transportation from one meter to 0.75 meters starting on Monday.

Transport groups operating these vehicles, along with other advocacy groups, cite the urgency of restoring their livelihood and the public demand for mass transportation and criticize the government priority on private vehicles.

Some 300 modern jeepneys will ply 15 routes in Metro Manila starting Monday as the region enters its 22nd day under a relaxed general community quarantine.

Despite commuter woes, the government has no immediate plans of allowing jeepneys back on the road, but is looking into giving jeepney drivers alternative means of livelihood, such as hiring them as contact tracers, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

As any world traveler knows, each Asian country offers its own unique brand of public transport. Passengers in Japan, for example, rocket down the tracks aboard sleek 170-mph Bullet Trains. In Vietnam, however, passengers move at a sedate five mph while sitting in cyclo pedicabs. Passengers in Thailand buzz about in three-wheeled tuk-tuks, while in Hong Kong they steam across the harbor on green-and-white Star Ferries. And perhaps most famously of all, the Filipinos cruise along in style...

Known as the country’s ‘King of the Road’, the Philippine jeepney is a cultural icon. Initially a product of up-cycling World War II vehicles after the war had ended, many of these public transport vehicles today – vibrantly painted and lavishly embellished by their owners – are unique mobile works of art.

The iconic Filipino jeepney is one of the country’s main modes of public transport and local commuters simply learn through time and experience how the tacit system of traveling via jeepney works. First-timers however are bound to find themselves puzzled at one point or another, attempting to get from origin to destination via these anachronistic vehicles. But don’t fret — Culture Trip’s got you covered. From flagging one down to secret commuter tricks, here’s everything you need to know...

Soon, Filipinos will have to say goodbye to the traditional jeepney that always came by. With the Philippine modernization program coming into effect starting this month, this once iconic means of transportation, tagged as the “King of the Road,” will be replaced by modern, eco-friendly public utility vehicles.