<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> <title></title> <style type="text/css">  </style> </head> <body marginleft="10" marginright="10" margintop="10" marginbottom="10"> The jeepney in the Philippines, is a major public transport service in the country. It evolved from the US military jeep, and today has become much longer than its original form in the twentieth century. Today, it carries about 17-20 people while it plies the major  & smaller streets around the country Hopefully no one will kill this electric car. E-jeepney electrifies Makati folk By DJ Yap Inquirer Last updated 06:31am (Mla time) 07/05/2007 MANILA, Philippines -- On their first excursion in the streets of the metropolis Wednesday, the two brightly painted "e-jeepneys" did not roar at all. They did not even purr. For that matter, they did not hiss, or cough, or sputter, like all public utility jeepneys do. Instead, these Earth-friendly cousins of the jeepney wove their way around the Makati central business district quietly -- and with nary a puff of smoke from their glossy behinds. Costing P500,000 each and running on batteries charged via electrical sockets overnight, the 12-seater e-jeepneys had a test-run along Ayala Avenue as part of a study on the feasibility of using this mode of transport on a metro-wide scale. And from Wednesday's demonstration under the hot mid-morning sun, city officials, environmentalists, business executives, and even pedestrians and commuters were of one mind: They liked what they saw. "Imagine the jeepney as a purely electric machine that belches nothing, makes no noise, has a high headroom, comfortable seating and large windows," Solar Electric Co. (Solarco) president Panch Puckett  said. "You may even pass the mike around and enjoy sing-alongs while on your way to work," he added. Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, who was among the first to drive the e-jeepney, described the experience as "like riding a golf cart." Push button gets it going "It's very easy to ride. Because it's lighter, the jeepney drivers who are so used to the heavy diesel engines will feel a little weird at first, but it only takes a short while to get used to it," Puckett  said. "You do not hear the engine running. It's very silent and there's even a radio for you to check if it's on," Joey Salgado, the city's information and community relations department chief, said. And how to start the vehicle? "You just push a button," Salgado said. As the e-jeepneys traversed the busy section of Ayala Avenue, pedestrians on the sidewalks stopped to watch them whiz past, trailed by photographers and cameramen. Drivers on the other lane rolled down their windows to watch the convoy, whose route started from the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Avenue toward the G3 Park in front of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, and back. For Binay, the e-jeepneys represent the future of road travel in the financial capital. Nationwide production "We hope that we can introduce the electric jeepneys in other cities nationwide," he said during a brief program after the test run. "Electric-powered jeepneys are set to revolutionize the Philippines' most recognizable icon," Greenpeace campaign director Von Hernandez  said. The e-jeepneys are a venture of Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc., which sprang from Greenpeace and other groups, and Solarco, which in turn is a part of GRIPP. Alternative to pollution The campaign is part of GRIPP's Climate Friendly Cities Project, a multi-pronged program for mitigating climate change that promotes transport and waste management initiatives through renewable energy-based technology. "The e-jeepneys aim to demonstrate that there are climate-friendly alternatives to the current polluting modes of public transportation in the Philippines," said Athena Ronquillo, GRIPP chair and lead proponent of the e-jeepney initiative. "The iconic jeepney remains but without wasteful and carbon emitting diesel, and while providing increased incomes to the vehicles' drivers," she added. Celebrities like Amanda Griffin, Juddah Paolo, Richard Gutierrez and Georgina Wilson, who all support Greenpeace, also graced the affair. "Considering it has no gas tank (just a battery compartment), the e-jeepney runs purely on stored electricity, resulting in a much quieter and fumeless trip," Puckett said. "Diesel-powered jeepneys actually waste more fuel while idling. In the case of the e-jeepney, when the driver steps on the break, the engine really stops. It doesn't idle," he said. Long-term prospects The battery that makes an e-jeepney run has a two-year warranty. The e-jeepney can run 120 km on a single charge of eight hours, Puckett said. "If the driver travels at an average speed of 40 kph nonstop, that translates to a three-hour working day. But the stops can extend his hours because the battery is not used up," Puckett said. Binay said the city government and its partners had begun talks with major stakeholders, particularly leaders of jeepney drivers' associations, about the long-term prospects of the project. "We have no intention of phasing out anybody in this business," Puckett said. "This is just to keep people aware and open their minds that there are alternative engines -- we're not talking about bodies but engines -- in a market that can clean the environment," he added. Break from the past On Wednesday, Binay signed an agreement for the leasing by the city of the two e-jeepneys from GRIPP. If the test run proves feasible, the city will lease more units, officials said. Binay said they were also looking into the economics of the project. "If the e-jeepney can help increase the income of jeepney drivers by removing their expenditure for diesel, then all the more reason for us to push ahead with the project," he said. For Puckett, the introduction of the e-jeepney means "we have no choice but to improve our lives according to these innovations because everything just keeps getting better and better." He said: "The e-jeepney will definitely change the way we think, design, drive, ride, and experience the mode of transportation that has become so much a part of being Filipino." ROSELLE LEAH K RIVERA PhD Fellow Human Resource and Local Development Staff Group Institute of Social Studies Kortenaerkade 12 2518 AX The Hague, Netherlands Office Tel: +31 70 4260428 Fax: +31 70 4260507 Mobile: +31 627315444 Please refer to: http://www.iss.nl/content/view/full/2873 for ISS' email disclaimer. </body> </html>