The jeepneys of the Philippines refuse to pull over

THE JEEPNEYS of the Philippines are at once a national treasure and a dirty menace. When American troops went home in 1946, they left behind hundreds of military jeeps. Filipinos fitted them with benches, daubed them with gaudy illustrations and began charging commuters for lifts around town. The originals have now mostly been scrapped, but jerry-rigged replicas remain the most common way for people without cars to navigate big cities. They outnumber buses roughly ten to one.

This is far from ideal. Ancient diesel engines sputter beneath most jeepneys’ garish bodywork. Transport of all kinds produces close to one-third of the Philippines’ energy-related carbon emissions. By one estimate jeepneys cough out 15% of all the pollution from road vehicles. Riders must often scurry into the street to clamber into the back of one. Jeepney passengers are said to be ten times more likely to experience a road accident than someone in a private car.