Sharing a car in the Philippines

[hk blues]

19 hours ago, manofthecoldland said:

People coming here for extended stays, often are from car dependent cultures that have urban and physical layouts built to accommodate a high level of personal vehicle use. Their home countries have infrastructures built and in place to deal with all the ramifications of such.

Can't really say that holds true for most of the PI. Simple things, like parking, towing, house design, etc. often can prove problematic for auto owners.

Many find scooters and motorbikes as more practical, along with the use of buses, trikes, etc.

Some expats find that they do indeed, need a car or truck for their individual situation, but many make do with the alternatives because of the expenses and host of other factors that often make casual car ownership something you really need to assess before taking the leap into it. IMO

100% agree with this post. 

Almost 8 years in and haven't missed having a car and that on top of 10 years in Hong Kong before that.  I'd hazard a guess that I've wished I had a car (and it has happened) less often than many who have one have wished they hadn't.  That said, it is very much location dependant and we chose a location where we knew we wouldn't need a car.

[GeoffH]

19 hours ago, hk blues said:

That said, it is very much location dependant and we chose a location where we knew we wouldn't need a car.

Our house is several kilometers from the highway in stage III of the subdivision and it's near the end of the street.  The nearest taxis are at the highway, the nearest jeepnees are only a block closer.  There are tricycles which one can ride to get to the highway or to the nearest (small) Gaisano.

It would be possible to get away without personal transport where we live but it wouldn't be easy as the tricycles tend only to come as far into the subdivision during school start and finish times.

More often than not we use the car but if I only need a few things or it's just me I'll take the motorbike.

The trade off in transport is worth it too me because we're surrounded by green forest on 3 sides of the subdivision and the city pollution is 30 minutes away.

Edited December 22, 2022 by GeoffH

[manofthecoldland]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

The trade off in transport is worth it too me because we're surrounded by green forest on 3 sides of the subdivision and the city pollution is 30 minutes away.

That's it in a nutshell. The further you are living from a location that has close and frequent motor trikes in search of fares, zooming by, the greater your need for a personal auto machine or motorbike .  There are places where you can get by on foot or bicycle, but its not 'more fun' walking about in the tropical heat and humidity.

[RBM]

Very much a personal choice. For us could not manage without a car, living in out skirts of a city but not being a city person means can go any where I choose. Would hate as a senior to reply on crappy jeeps....sure newer ones coming on but to many crappy ones remain.

As one whom loves hiking and mountains of which we have near by a car is pretty much a necessity, especially for longer short term vacation. Should add, the odd supermarket trip as well, these i stay in car while partner shops......

To the OP I would feel sure if put out feelers there would be some fellow members here quite able to store his car.

[longway]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:09 AM, Tommy T. said:

I cannot answer that. However, I have observed that, if there is any accident, the locals will be on you and the owner and driver faster than you can say "Holy S***t!"  My experience so far -

 

In Puerto Rico when a traffic accident happens the police interview all of the drivers, the one who has insurance is the one the police sited for having caused the accident.

[hk blues]

6 minutes ago, longway said:

In Puerto Rico when a traffic accident happens the police interview all of the drivers, the one who has insurance is the one the police sited for having caused the accident.

Certainly pragmatic. Hopefully, at the same time those without insurance face a penalty as well.

[Barden]

19 hours ago, RBM said:

Very much a personal choice. For us could not manage without a car, living in out skirts of a city but not being a city person means can go any where I choose. Would hate as a senior to reply on crappy jeeps....sure newer ones coming on but to many crappy ones remain.

I agree with you 100 % , as you,  I am more a country side person, so maybe for us the car makes more sense.

One thing that bothers me is that at my current age of 60,  driving a scotter , and to be in  constant risk of an accident , that could prove  fatal. A few months ago a spanish citizen living in the Philippines had an accident when driving a scotter, and he died in the hospital. Very sad !!!

[Barden]

On 12/20/2022 at 8:47 PM, GeoffH said:

Secondly the Philippines does not use nor recognise international drivers licenses, persons on tourist visas are allowed to drive on their home licenses for a maximum of 90 days (if it’s not in English a translation document is needed).  After that time a conversion to a local license is required (which requires a long term visa and a non tourist ACR card).

I just got my international drivers license, and it says that the Philippines is one of the signatory countries to the agreement. I understand that perhaps its  only  valid for 90 days in the Philippines , eventough the document validity is one year, but do you mean that  I cant drive with the international drivers license the first 90 days ? only with the home  translated  version into english ?

[Old55]

28 minutes ago, Barden said:

I agree with you 100 % , as you,  I am more a country side person, so maybe for us the car makes more sense.

One thing that bothers me is that at my current age of 60,  driving a scotter , and to be in  constant risk of an accident , that could prove  fatal. A few months ago a spanish citizen living in the Philippines had an accident when driving a scotter, and he died in the hospital. Very sad !!!

The dangers of riding a scooter are real several of our members have been injured in accidents over the years.

Hopefully during your first long visit you will find a workable transportation solution. We plan long visits starting next year and I'm not comfortable using a scooter for island hopping. We may attempt it. I used to ride a Fatboy until the mid 80's. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by Old55

[Mike J]

39 minutes ago, Old55 said:

The dangers of riding a scooter are real several of our members have been injured in accidents over the years.

For sure.  Using a cane and limping today.  Last night we have Christmas eve dinner at mother-in-laws house.   The driveway is two strips of concrete with grass in the middle.  As departed on my scooter I noticed one of the dinner guests had parked at the end of driveway and I need to shift from the left side of the drive to the right to go around his multicab.  It had been raining all day and when the front tire of my scooter hit that grass and wet dirt, the bike slid right out from under me.   Skinned up right knee and bike fell and pinned my right foot.  If the foot doesn't feel better in a day or so I will have it x-rayed as it feels like a possible fracture of one of the metatarsals.  Knee got skinned up a bit and it actually looked kind of nasty by the time I got home, blood from knee to ankle as I take blood thinners due to a stroke in 2017.   So even a very low speed crash can be painful.  Dumb on my part, I should have walked the bike from one side of the drive to the other considering the rain and grass/dirt in the middle.  I was going to give up riding when I turned 70.  72 now and I suppose I need to giver some serious thought to an alternative to get around town, run errands, etc.   But limping or not, this is still a better Christmas than last year when the super typhoon tore up Moalboal.