Percentage Of Car Ownership In The Philippines

[Thomas]

The price of gasoline in Scandinavian countries, especially Norway, is a good deterrent against traffic deaths. The preference is public transportation because it is cheaper.

Yes - where there are suiting enough public transportations available. We have so long distances*, so many of us living rural don't realy have a choise other than having car.

I believe an average car in Sweden is driven around 15 000 km per year. At least that was common many years ago.

 

*Same land size (not counting ocean) as the Philippines, but only 1/10 of the population. 

[crad]

 

 Most Filipinos cannot afford the purchase price for a new or used car.

 

 

 

most Filipinos have never been inside a car especially when bearing in mind that at any one time 50% of Filipinos are under the age of 23. Never mind contemplating owning one. Even as a passenger, most Filipinos have never been inside cars. Car ownership is very low and taxis, even when available, which is not often, are very expensive for most people even in cities, to consider using frequently. Millions of Filipino people probably go a week at a time and much more, without even seeing a car of any kind.

[i am bob]

There are an awful lot of people who ride from the small villages and farms for church on Sundays... travel to visit family... Even off to school! All we ever had is people complaint about how busy traffic is! Busses, jeepnies, v-hires are all over capacity! Take a peak at a ferry and they look like sardine cans... I doubt those people are all walking when they disembark! So to say most Filipinos have never been inside a car just seems wrong and very disrespectful to the people of the Philippines! To say "millions of filipino people probably go a week at a time and much more, without even seeing a car of any kind" is just, well, ...

[robert k]

I used to commute abour 1,400 kilometers a week in my truck to work, not including driving places I actually wanted to go besides work. I just wish I only had to drive 15,000 kilometers a year. I could not talk them into building dozens of sports stadiums and schools in close proximity to my home. :)

[crad]

 to say most Filipinos have never been inside a car just seems wrong and very disrespectful to the people of the Philippines! To say "millions of filipino people probably go a week at a time and much more, without even seeing a car of any kind" is just, well, ...

it is not my fault if you do not know what the reality of life is for millions of rural Filipinos, who live in areas where the 'roads' - which are not roads by our western standards - are incapable of being serviced by any vehicle other than a motorbike or other two wheeler. Millions of Filipino schoolchildren go to school every morning on the back of motorbikes if their families can afford the fare to and fro. If their families can't afford the 5 peso fare, then they walk, maybe three or four miles like African children do, there might be no other way to get there. The school might be in the mountain barangay where there are no cars, but it is more likely to be in a little town near the highway so children will see cars passing on the highway near their school now and then (although most of the traffic is still motorbikes andf jeepneys). But up in the mountain barangay where they live and where their family farm is, they will never see a car. A car can not reach there. There is no proper road. You would have seen this if you had spent any appreciable amount of time in the rural Philippines, but obviously you haven't. These kids parents who work the farm do not have to go to school and therefore do not go into town as often as the children do, so they see cars much less, maybe once every few days or once a week. As for the grandparents, who might hardly ever go into town at all but spend almost all their time up the mountain, they might not see a car from one month to the next,  Even six months. Even a year. Cars are just these things that whizz past on the highway, but even that is not often because the highway is not anywhere near their home where they spend their days.

 

As for going iinside one (i.e. a car, not a jeepney), that has not happened to any of them - children, parents, or grandparents alike. None of them have ever been inside a car, like a taxi. Never. Not once.

 

cars are just unusual in the Philippines compared to what we as westerners are used to. Here are the stats :

 

CAR OWNERSHIP PER CAPITA, ASEAN per thousand

 

including automobiles, SUV's, trucks, vans, buses, commercial and freightvehicles, but not including motorcycles and other two wheelers

 

Brunei 510

Malaysia 361

Thailand 206

Singapore 149

Indonesia 69

Philippines 30

Vietnam 23

Cambodia 21

Laos 20

Myanmar 7

 

there is only 3 cars for every 100 people, in the Philippines. In the United States, there are 80.

[MikeB]

I'm surprised it's as high as 3 out of 100. I just asked my wife how old she was when she first rode in a car...17. 

[crad]

yes that is not so unusual. 17 or 18 years of age probably about the average first time age for those people that have ever been in a car at all. When those rural kids I described above get bigger, they might go into a big city like Cebu or Tacloban, for a job or college. There is loads of jeepneys there and also for the first time ever, car taxis. They realise that they can get in cars that have airconditioning in them, for a price. A price usually beyond them unless there is a group of them to share the fare. This is also the likely first time they have ever been in a private airconditioned space. Ask your wife that question as well - when was the first time you were in a private airconditioned space. You might get the same answer. A taxi. Malls do not of course count as they are not private.

[i am bob]

to say most Filipinos have never been inside a car just seems wrong and very disrespectful to the people of the Philippines! To say "millions of filipino people probably go a week at a time and much more, without even seeing a car of any kind" is just, well, ...

it is not my fault if you do not know what the reality of life is for millions of rural Filipinos, who live in areas where the 'roads' - which are not roads by our western standards - are incapable of being serviced by any vehicle other than a motorbike or other two wheeler. Millions of Filipino schoolchildren go to school every morning on the back of motorbikes if their families can afford the fare to and fro. If their families can't afford the 5 peso fare, then they walk, maybe three or four miles like African children do, there might be no other way to get there. The school might be in the mountain barangay where there are no cars, but it is more likely to be in a little town near the highway so children will see cars passing on the highway near their school now and then (although most of the traffic is still motorbikes andf jeepneys). But up in the mountain barangay where they live and where their family farm is, they will never see a car. A car can not reach there. There is no proper road. You would have seen this if you had spent any appreciable amount of time in the rural Philippines, but obviously you haven't. These kids parents who work the farm do not have to go to school and therefore do not go into town as often as the children do, so they see cars much less, maybe once every few days or once a week. As for the grandparents, who might hardly ever go into town at all but spend almost all their time up the mountain, they might not see a car from one month to the next, Even six months. Even a year. Cars are just these things that whizz past on the highway, but even that is not often because the highway is not anywhere near their home where they spend their days.

As for going iinside one (i.e. a car, not a jeepney), that has not happened to any of them - children, parents, or grandparents alike. None of them have ever been inside a car, like a taxi. Never. Not once.

cars are just unusual in the Philippines compared to what we as westerners are used to. Here are the stats :

CAR OWNERSHIP PER CAPITA, ASEAN per thousand

including automobiles, SUV's, trucks, vans, buses, commercial and freightvehicles, but not including motorcycles and other two wheelers

Brunei 510

Malaysia 361

Thailand 206

Singapore 149

Indonesia 69

Philippines 30

Vietnam 23

Cambodia 21

Laos 20

Myanmar 7

there is only 3 cars for every 100 people, in the Philippines. In the United States, there are 80.

My apologies. I didn't realize you are only speaking of cars - no private jeepneys, vans, pickups, or motorcycle. Just cars. How could I have been so silly?

[JJReyes]

there is only 3 cars for every 100 people, in the Philippines. In the United States, there are 80.

 

Does the data include unlicensed cars? I have visited remote areas where the owners pay the annual fee to either the police or some local official. The cars are 30 or 40 years old and should have been junked a long time ago. The "plates" were made of cardboard.

 

 

Spotted these three in the Pampanga area.  The driver looked about 13-14.

 

We stayed overnight at a private 1,000 acres park owned by an association. They sell RV pads and may have thought we would be interested. The facility had hundreds of off road vehicles and unlicensed old cars driven by children as young as 9 years old.  Licensing is not necessary because the grounds are private. There was a large shooting range near the entrance and we heard popping sounds up to 10 pm. My best guess is the association members are Southern rednecks who value their independence.

 

The Philippines is not the only place where there are under aged driver. 

Edited June 28, 2014 by JJReyes

[i am bob]

The site that was referenced only lists the registered vehicles for the country. Several other sites have suggested that unregistered cars may raise this to almost 5 out of 10. Include other private forms of transportation and the number sits at 7.5 without unregistered vehicles.