Jeepney
- Date
- c. 1945-1950 · confidence medium
- Place
- Manila, Philippines
- Credited to
- Filipino mechanics (Sarao Motors and other workshops)
- Field
- Movement
What it is
A surplus US military jeep from the Second World War, stretched to carry a dozen or more passengers on side benches and with a decorated body. It became the most widely used public transport in the Philippines.
There is no exact date: the conversion spread after the war; Leonardo Sarao founded his workshop in 1953 and is often associated with the classic form.
What it led to
- informal low-cost collective transport in Philippine cities
- a craft industry of local bodybuilders and workshops
- later debates on fleet modernisation and emissions