There is no question about it, the jeepney is an icon that says “Pinoy” like no other symbol.  Miniature jeepneys, like toys, are in department stores and souvenir shops and are popular with balikbayans and tourists because there’s nothing like it in other parts of the world. In the Philippines, the jeepney is part of the road landscape. It’s a regular commuter transport,  functions also like a school bus, and is a tourist attraction shuttling guests within many resorts. Who does not have a memory with the jeepney, either as passenger, or driver of a new car anxiously cruising along it? The recent transport strike that was held to protest the phaseout of the jeepney and the mandatory consolidation of jeepney franchises by June 30, 2023, reminded us of the impending last trip of this icon. The deadline had been extended many times, and again recently, to Dec. 30, 2023. “The king of the road,” as the jeepney was christened many decades ago, may be running its final leg in its charming form that carries bits of Pinoy creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance. Here are the facts: The PUV Modernization Program, a government initiative designed to streamline and organize the country’s public road transportation system, was launched in June 2017. It seeks to provide safer, more-efficient and more strictly-regulated means of transport for the riding public. Though commonly associated with jeepneys, the PUVMP actually covers all modes of four to six-wheeled passenger transport. It is common knowledge that our transportation system needs attention – trips are unpredictable and a variety of transport vehicles crowd many intersections at certain hours of the day, route franchises are too many and are difficult to regulate, and emissions of old engines cause air pollution. In the PUVMP, one factor in the solution involves the replacement of the old jeepneys with the modern jeepneys which must be powered by a Euro-4 emissions compliant (or better) engine or electric motor powered by onboard batteries. They should also be equipped with dash cams, speed limiters, CCTV cameras and an automatic fare collection system. Its shape, like a mini bus that will allow standing passengers, will not resemble the old jeepneys where passengers have mastered the posture of moving in and out of the vehicle half-standing, half-bowing, knees bent. The modern units with those features can be quite expensive, ranging from P1.6 million to as much a P3 million. To be able to buy the units, jeepney drivers have to form cooperatives which will purchase the units and manage day-to-day operations. The government has prepared a financing package with low downpayment, low interest, and longer loan term for the purchase of the modern jeepney. Only cooperatives or corporations registered with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be granted a franchise. In effect, the new program will overhaul the system the drivers and operators are accustomed to for generations.  They operate as single proprietors holding a franchise, drive the units and manage operations, even act as conductor and fare collector throughout each trip. Are they and their families prepared for this major change after the PUVMP was introduced in 2017? It looks like a long and bumpy ride ahead for the vision of the PUVMP which is a safer and more-efficient transport system. Not only will the program need a financing package, it needs more work on ways to introduce people who will be most affected to accept change, blend in, or move on.