The Lady Who Wouldn't Take My Fare

Jeepney drivers lucky enough to have helpers who ride shotgun have it easier than those who don't, because these assistants can keep track of where passengers got on, where they get off, and compute the fare accordingly. When I was younger I wondered how these drivers and their helpers could gauge the actual kilometers traveled by a passenger and compute any fares that went beyond the minimum rate. Now I know that it's all just a vague "guess-timate"; they know their routes well-enough to make an assumption of how many kilometers certain points on their route are relative to where they've been.

When you ride a jeep, there's an unspoken and unwritten rule of fair play and honesty among the passengers. The one least followed is that if there's space up front, you move up front, closer to the driver, so that newer passengers will have an easier time embarking. This usually doesn't happen because everyone wants to sit closest to the rear to make exiting easier.

Honesty comes into play when paying. Drivers with assistants have the added advantage of having an extra pair of eyes to keep track of who hasn't handed over their fare, but drivers who don't may miss out on those trying to get a free ride, especially if traffic is heavy, the jeep is constantly full in a steady stream of people getting on and off, and every face blurs right into the next in a mix of sweat, heat, car fumes, and dust. In the past, it was more common to find jeeps with signs that punned: "God knows Hudas not pay", "Hudas" being the Filipino name for the Bible villain Judas, and a play on the words "who does". I don't see as many signs like these anymore, but I'm sure there are a few still around.

Perhaps another reason riders don't want to move forward when they embark is that they are usually tasked to take the fares of those who are in the rear, and pass this on to the driver or the assistant. If the fare isn't exact, it's their unspoken responsibility to pass the change back to the rider. The driver's hands are usually sweaty, and grimy with grease and motor-oil, and who knows what stuff the other passengers have been holding? Money isn't very clean. A U.S. study I read long ago reported that dollar bills can be as dirty as public restroom toilets, so you can imagine how dirty the money in our wallets are right now.

I know I'm taking an awfully long time to get to my point, but I suppose that's because all these thoughts came to me in a rush because of what happened last night. Just like in an old blog entry when, for the first time ever, I encountered a lady jeepney driver, last night I experienced, for the first time ever also, my first uncooperative passenger.

I had just hopped onto a half-empty jeep heading for my neighborhood, and had taken a seat near the back (breaking the rule I mentioned above myself). Only one passenger was seated up front, a lady with short hair and in office clothes who looked to be in her late 20's. I had my fare ready, and called out to the driver to hand it to him, so he reached backward to take it. Another lady passenger in the middle took my money and made to pass it forward to the lady up front. She called out to this passenger and stretched her arm out with my fare, but the lady in front did not make a move to take it. She didn't even blink. The driver and another passenger seated beside him actually stared at her and asked her to take the money, but she was lost in her own world; she didn't even look at them. We called to her several times, but there was no reaction.

This oddness clearly unsettled those of us in the jeep; no one found it amusing. Everyone's brow was wrinkled in confusion or irritation. This doesn't happen! One man muttered quite loudly, "Ang bastos" (How rude). The lady with my coins handed them back to me, and I heard her say "Nakakatakot" (Scary). She didn't want to get near that other lady. Clearly, when these unspoken rules are broken (outside of sitting near the rear instead of in front), jeepney-riding people clearly get bothered. I could do little else but take my coins, stand up, and hand over my fare to the driver myself, but even I couldn't bring myself to sit beside this lady up front; I returned to the rear.

Little by little the jeepney filled with other travelers, and another person who had sat up close to the driver took on his temporary role of taking fares and returning change. I closely watched the lady who had refused to pass my money, but nothing else changed in her demeanor until I got off at my stop.

What to make of this? What story is behind this? Was she deaf, perhaps? She certainly wasn't blind; I saw no walking cane, and she was alone and unassisted. How strange, and really, the reactions of the other passengers were not surprising because, well, like professional basketball players who miss easy, open layups, or excellent free throw shooters bricking their charities, this really doesn't happen. In fact, pro players and good free throw shooters can miss, but something like this just doesn't happen. So when it does, it's unsettling. I really do wonder what story is behind this.

You know what else struck me? In all my years of riding jeeps, I've never suffered a robbery yet, believe it or not. This year I've had my first lady jeepney driver, and my first uncooperative co-passenger. Could a stick-up be next? Gee, I hope not. But as I recall last night's weirdness I still feel unsettled, and I can still see the same in the faces of the others with me yesterday night.