As the volume of public utility vehicles lessens due to the fuel crisis, a police vehicle was used to shuttle commuters in an undisclosed location.
Automotive publication VISOR on Thursday, April 9, posted a video submitted by a reader, which showed commuters alighting from an open police vehicle at night.
“Good job sa police patrol. Sulit ang gas! Public service,” the publication said in its post, quoting the reader.
About five commuters were able to board the vehicle.
The post has earned 20,000 views, over 380 likes and reactions, and 16 comments from Filipinos, with some having similar sentiments as the video sender.
“Sana all, sa barangay namin, service lang ni [kapitan] at pamilya niya ‘yan,” a Facebook user wrote.
“GANYAN DAPAT,” another user commented.
“Ay, good job ‘to! ‘Yung pinagpaguran ko para sa TAX naramdaman ko,” said a different Pinoy.
“Why not, ‘di ba, habang nagpa-patrol, pwede silang magsabay ng mga commuters. Sana gayahin ng iba,” wrote another user.
A transport group said that half of the jeepney operators in their community have stopped plying their routes due to the exorbitant fuel costs, with transport workers unable to keep up with the rising prices.
Another transport group said that many jeepney drivers are now earning as low as P200 to P300 per whole-day trip, with the rest of their earnings going toward fuel costs instead.
A jeepney driver had to temporarily halt his trip after running out of diesel fuel in his journey. It turned out that he no longer fills his tank to full capacity because of the high fuel cost.
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Motorists are facing steep increases in diesel, gasoline, and kerosene prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, a key oil-supplying region.
The conflict has severely disrupted the shipment of petroleum products, as suppliers face difficulties transporting oil amid military tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
