One of the pet peeves of commuters in Cebu is the driver of the passenger jeepney who stops his jeepney in the middle of the road if a passenger embarks or disembarks. Why does he do that? You can imagine the traffic jam that is caused if you multiply that by hundreds of jeepneys plying the different routes.
A doctor friend who recently hired a a former jeepney drivers as his family's driver says that he asked his new driver the reason for this seemingly disregard for traffic rules and road courtesy. His driver gave two reasons.
First. Passengers may be the cause. He says that because we commuters can ask (nay, command) the driver to stop his jeepney anywhere we want, he needs to pull over many times. That would not be a problem if there are designated jeepney stops or that commuters take the extra mile to walk a short distance. But no; most of the time, commuters want to get off nearest to where they need to go, never mind if the previous stop was only two meters behind. For a driver to be doing that many times is very tiring. Of course he also faces the ire of the commuter if he goes past or mortify himself and the other passengers with the incessant banging for him to stop. So what does he do? He stops in the middle of the road, so the commuter can get off.
Second. Drivers want to earn more. If they pull over to let a passenger disembark, the next driver will get to the passengers who are waiting for a ride first. If he stops in the middle of the road, the drivers folowing him will have no choice but to wait for him to move forward. Or overtake him and risk getting the wrath of drivers on the other lane; that is, if he can actually overtake considering the traffic situation in many areas.
So perhaps the next time we follow a jeepney whose driver does this stop-in-the middle-I-don't-care kinda thing, we can be a little more understanding. Nevertheless, this situation can be remedied. Any suggestions?
A doctor friend who recently hired a a former jeepney drivers as his family's driver says that he asked his new driver the reason for this seemingly disregard for traffic rules and road courtesy. His driver gave two reasons.
First. Passengers may be the cause. He says that because we commuters can ask (nay, command) the driver to stop his jeepney anywhere we want, he needs to pull over many times. That would not be a problem if there are designated jeepney stops or that commuters take the extra mile to walk a short distance. But no; most of the time, commuters want to get off nearest to where they need to go, never mind if the previous stop was only two meters behind. For a driver to be doing that many times is very tiring. Of course he also faces the ire of the commuter if he goes past or mortify himself and the other passengers with the incessant banging for him to stop. So what does he do? He stops in the middle of the road, so the commuter can get off.
Second. Drivers want to earn more. If they pull over to let a passenger disembark, the next driver will get to the passengers who are waiting for a ride first. If he stops in the middle of the road, the drivers folowing him will have no choice but to wait for him to move forward. Or overtake him and risk getting the wrath of drivers on the other lane; that is, if he can actually overtake considering the traffic situation in many areas.
So perhaps the next time we follow a jeepney whose driver does this stop-in-the middle-I-don't-care kinda thing, we can be a little more understanding. Nevertheless, this situation can be remedied. Any suggestions?
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