eJeepney : LTFRB issued franchise for the Electric Jeepney
It always has been the best of interest of our government to start and change the drastic environmental state of our beloved country. We are starting to feel the revenge of our abused Mother Earth. News about floods drowning an entire town, frequent landslides, super hurricanes and tsunami’s. Everywhere, this kind of phenomenon are happening, and as long as we don’t take responsibility and take action, more and more of these tragedies are going to occur. The solution? Introducing the first electric public utility vehicle- Makati City’s eJeepney.
E-Jeepney
That is why “Going Green” is the new theme for Manila’s streets, or rather, within the crazy streets of Makati, Philippines. A project headed by Mayor JunJun Binay aims to lower the emission production of cars as well as helping our jeepney drivers to lower their gasoline or diesel consumption by using electric powered jeepney or popularly known as ejeepney.
Makati Electric Jeepney Salcedo Route
eJeepney, or eJeepney Transport Corporation (eJTC) is a trial project of the City of Makati and the iCSC (Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities) under the project of GRIPP (Green Renewable Independent Power Producer). The fleet initially is tracing the Legaspi and Salcedo Village loops, and recently, the city added a new path- the Heritage Route, which traverses the old landmarks within the city. It has been running in the streets of Makati for almost three years to convince the Board to award them franchising rights. After seeing its technical viabilities, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Boards(LTFRB) have finally issued a franchise for the Philippine’s first public-utility electric-jeepney ( ejeepney). The group EJTC will handle the declared routes starting March 1, 2012.
But what makes this jeep unique? It is interesting to note how these machines work its magic. eJeepney’s life and soul depends upon the supply of power- which is its battery. It can charge up to 220 amp per hour. Embedded on its body is a 12-piece 6 volts battery. Now, that’s 16 kwh to be fully charged. If the electric company charges P11 pesos per kwh (including all the side charges), this gives us P176 pesos per full charge. If it runs for about 65 kilometers, the charge for electricity spent is P2.71 per kilometer, with a total cost of P176.15 pesos. If compared to diesel, a common jeepney runs on 8 liters per full tank. Running for 65 km, this would be 8.125 liters. The price of diesel now is 44.50, making it P361.56 pesos per kilometer. I’ll let you do the math for the price difference.
The success of eJeepney is just a start. The advocacy for a greener Philippines is on its road towards success. There are still two more components to be fulfilled, and if everybody will cooperate, these ideas would materialize and help the cause of our good government. Let us all hold hands for our greener future.
Category: Automotives