Jeepney Transformation : Bacolod City Will Soon Have Hummers for Jeepneys

Hummer Jeepney : A new kind of Jeepney

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines - In line with the move to phase out old and environmentally-unfriendly jeepneys, a new kind of jeepney will roll out in Bacolod City. 

Known for its world famous MassKara Festival and delectable chicken inasal, Bacolod, the City of Smiles will be known for another first - the use of Hummers as public transport.

The Filipino Jeepney has for many years been a symbol of Filipino ingenuity being the most popular means of public transportation in the country.

Originally made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II and improvised and refitted through Filipino resourcefulness, the jeepney will take on a new shape this year when ingenuity meets the legendary decadence of Negros Island. 

Bacolod City will be the first city in the Philippines to see the rollout of the new generation of jeepneys using GM Hummers as its platform.  The project is spearheaded by a visionary from Bacolod who requests to be made anonymous at this time. 

The visionary sugar farmer relates, "There is really nothing new about this except the new platform using Hummers.  Jeepneys are here to stay.  The "Humjeep" project is faithful to the original intentions of the of the jeepney, and that is to convert a military transport vehicle into a form of public conveyance".  He adds, "My close friends who know this project tell me I'm nuts, but I tell them that you're the ones who don't know what legacy is all about. Years from now, tourists in the Philippines will go to Bacolod just to ride one of the five Hummer jeepneys I'll be deploying".

"Love it or hate it, the Jeepney will never go away.  All that's needed is a new platform for which the Hummer is perfect.  The fact that the Hummer was also a military vehicle adds to the novelty". 

A look at the current "Humjeep" hidden in a Negros gamefarm shows that it has been modified by eliminating the rear side doors and creating a single rear door which is typical of regular jeepneys.

The Bacolod-based visionary adds, "For the additional Humjeeps, we will be sourcing two more from Port Irene and we are eyeing to buy Piolo Pascual's H3 and Angel Locsin's H2."

Soon, riding a jeepney will really be more fun in Bacolod.

Visual peg of the interiors of the Bacolod "Humjeep" project (source : PDI)

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