eJeepneys rolled out in Quezon City!
QC rolls out e-jeepneys on Monday
By CHITO A. CHAVEZ, MANILA BULLETIN
July 18, 2010
Quezon City officials will test- drive two electronically-run jeepneys Monday in a bid to promote and show the public the use of ecologically friendly means of transportation.
The pilot testing of the electronic jeepney, also known as the e-jeepney, is part of the launching of the Project “Hatirang Bayan” of the city’s Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department (EPWMD).
Expected to join the test ride are Mayor Herbert Bautista, Vice-Mayor Joy Belmonte, and members of the city council, some of whom are newly-elected or returning city officials who have claimed their old posts.
New faces and returning members of the city council include actors and now councilors Roderick Paulate and Alfred Vargas both of the city’s 2nd District, broadcaster Precious Hipolito-Castelo also of the 2nd District; businessman Allan Reyes and political scions Eufemio Lagumbay and Gian Sotto of the city’s 3rd District; Anthony “Onyx’’ Crisologo of the city’s 1st District, and come-backing councilor Marvin Rillo.
Immediately after the 8 a.m. flag ceremony, the city officials led by Bautista will ride the 14-seat jeepney at the city hall compound.
Drei Po, acting chairman of the plans and program division of the EPWMD, said that, beginning Tuesday, regular free rides will be available in Barangay Vasra from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
The route will be from near the barangay hall to Kalayaan Avenue near the hall of Justice and back.
In the afternoon, the public will continue to enjoy the free service from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. as the e-jeepneys will take the route from Kalayaan Avenue to Elliptical Road, Quezon Avenue, and ending at the Metro Rail Transit’s Trinoma Station on EDSA.
Po said the testing will be done for a month so that the viability, emission testing, health, environment, and economic concerns on the vehicle will be determined before buying of additional units can be determined.
Each unit costs P625,200, but the the local government will not spend a single centavo for the one-month testing period of the present two e-jeepneys.
MD Juan, a local company, is the manufacturer of the vehicle which is also the same unit being used in Makati City, Ilocos Sur and Puerto Princesa, House of Representatives, and Central Bank of the Philippines said that the charging time is between eight and 10 hours for a 55- kilometer drive.
However, a city hall employee said that the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and other concerned government agencies should run after errant emission testing centers allowing smoke-belchers to hit the road.
The city hall personnel, who requested anonymity, said the city government’s e-jeepney program should only be complementary, citing that vehicle owners easily wiggle out of their predicament passing the emission tests effortlessly in exchange for fees.
“Pansinin natin ang mga usok na binubuga ng private vehicles at pampasaherong sasakyan wag na sa EDSA dito na lang sa East Avenue. Grabe ang pollution dahil nalalagyan ang mga tauhan ng emission testing centers (Notice the thick cloud of smoke emitted by the privately-owned and public utility vehicles not on EDSA but only on East Avenue. Pollution is at its worst due to corruption at the emission testing centers),’’ the employee who works for one of the city councilors added.
He suggested that the city government put up LTO-accredited emission testing centers to be manned by incorruptible personnel to ensure that smoke-belching vehicles are kept off the streets. #
