Friday, March 4, 2011 at 03:53PM
The fathers of a number of our young scholars in the Philippines work as drivers. Incomes for drivers are entirely dependent on the number of passengers they can transport during the day.None of the fathers in our community own their own vehicles which means at the end of the day they need to subtract the cost of rental from their earnings. Rental costs are usually equal to or more than half of daily driver's wages. They are also responsible for re-feuling throughout the day; as of today the cost of 1 gallon of gas in the Philippines is $5.58.
The orange vehicle to the left is called a tricycle or a pedicab. (In this picture it is filled with mothers of some Her Star's students) Unlike some other forms of transportation, pedicabs are allowed to drive within the city limits. This gives them the chance of earning a slightly higher income because there are more passengers at all times of day. Pedicabs can also carry a surprising number of passengers at one time.
The other common vehicle driven by the fathers is a motorized sikad. 
Sikads are bicycles with side cars. These are adapted to run on the engine of a water pump. Unlike pedicabs, the sikads are only permitted to travel within barangays (residential areas) and not on major roads. Most of their passengers are in the morning, mid-day, and evening. Mr. Eddie Rebojo, father of one of our kindergarten girls, is seen here with the sikad he rents. He earns 7 pesos (approximately 8 cents) for each passenger. After the costs of rental and gas are paid, in a twelve hour work day, Mr. Rebojo earns an average of US$2.38.
Sikads are bicycles with side cars. These are adapted to run on the engine of a water pump. Unlike pedicabs, the sikads are only permitted to travel within barangays (residential areas) and not on major roads. Most of their passengers are in the morning, mid-day, and evening. Mr. Eddie Rebojo, father of one of our kindergarten girls, is seen here with the sikad he rents. He earns 7 pesos (approximately 8 cents) for each passenger. After the costs of rental and gas are paid, in a twelve hour work day, Mr. Rebojo earns an average of US$2.38. Jeepneys are brightly colored and elaborately decorated mini-buses seen all over the Philippines. They are permitted to travel within the city limits or between towns depending upon their assigned route. A jeepney ride within the city costs 8 pesos (roughly 8 1/2 cents). In Manila during rush hour a jeepney could carry 24 passengers - sometimes more. However, jeepneys also are more expensive to rent and use more fuel making the income of a jeepney driver comparable to that of all other drivers.
This is the jeepney which Mr. Cabidog rents. Rain flaps have been lowered over the windows.
These men work hard, often 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
