Am a car owner who also happens to be a big fan of commuting, specifically using overhead LRT/MRT trains to reach North to South of Manila, and vice versa, in a jiffy. I find jeepneys obtrusive and a nuisance, although I could tolerate the airconditioned ones in Makati and the environment-friendly e-jeepneys, which I have written about in this blog a number of times already.
Now comes the latest news from Greenpeace: the transportation department has officially classified e-jeepneys as public vehicles and will now be allowed to operate in major thoroughfares.
Green Renewable Independent Power Producer, which is working with Greenpeace in the e-jeepney project welcomed the move,” especially at a time when skyrocketing diesel and fossil fuel prices have considerably decreased the income of jeepney drivers.”
“The DOTC’s go-signal also means that we can now proceed with scaling up E-Jeepney fleets in various host cities, giving the Philippines the opportunity to leapfrog into climate-friendly
sustainable transport,” said GRIPP Chairperson Athena Ballesteros.
Here’s the Greenpeace backgrounder on -ejeeps:
” The E-Jeepneys were launched last July 4, 2007 in Makati City, as part
of a larger initiative called the Climate Friendly Cities Project. The
project demonstrates how cities can help mitigate the problem of climate
change through implementing measures that would avoid the use of climate
change-inducing fossil fuels. Through the project, a fleet of
electric-powered jeepneys will derive energy from biodegradable wastes
from the city’s wet markets, food establishments and households, thereby
helping mitigate climate change even as it addresses urban problems such
as air pollution and solid waste, while providing enhanced incomes to
the jeepney drivers. The project is sponsored in part by the Dutch Doen
Foundation and is currently supported by Makati, Baguio and Puerto
Princesa Cities.”
Greenpeace and GRIPP are now calling on the national
government to institute large-scale climate change solutions such as
phasing out coal-fired power plants, and the immediate passage of a
strong renewable energy legislation.
What say you Mayor Fred Lim, Mayor Nene Aguilar, Mayor Marides Fernando and the rest of ’em high-performing metro mayors?!
This blog supports environment-friendly initiatives…just don’t let me go vegetarian soon 😛
I dont really know what an E-Jeepney is, but if it’s good for the environment, I guess it’s good. =P
Paolo,
You should read this article, <a href=”http://www.annalyn.net/2007/07/05/only-in-the-philippines-electric-jeepneys-invade-makati/””here”, for perspective.
Just a thought though: don’t electric cars only shift the pollution from one source (internal combustion engines) to another (coal power plants)? Don’t get me wrong though, I’m all for the initiative. I wanna see e-jeepneys everywhere.
hi ajay twas nice seeing you ynight! 🙂 I’m also a big fan of lrt and mrt because I live in QC and it only costs me around 25 bucks to go to Glorietta, aircon pa! I find them safer than jeepneys, and taxi’s. I just choose the rides that are not too crowded. The e jeepneys you mentioned seem nice- but I honestly havent seen them. I wonder how much they charge?
hi, happy mother’s day! am reading the link about e-jeepneys dahil wala ring akong idea kung ano yan 😀
finally!!! know what–this is all a matter of political will.
look at dhaka, bangladesh. a few years back, the govt has ruled that CNG be used in the city for public utilities. even the tuktuk (they also call baby taxis–similar to out tricycles) had to be replaced. now, there is less pollution in the city.
even plastic bags were baned from supermarkets and the public matkets. they use jute bags.
anyway, Happy Mother’s Day to you.
I have different point view about jeepneys I think that jeepneys are the greetest invention in terms of commuting via land. and it’s cheap.
wow, e-jeepneys? high-tech ah! and here I am just watching a re-run of Back to the Future… hehe. I guess the future has come. 😀
Oh man… I’ve got a bad feeling that another government official is going to be richer when this is implemented and te eJeepney production will stop. One will be blamed, one will point fingers, one will leave unscathed.
This is so cool. We’ve always treated jeepneys as an icon of our country. We put their images in many souvenir items for tourists. If e-jeepneys become successful, we’ll have an even better reason to be proud of them.
An eco friendly auto that runs off of very little fuel is in the future. Japan has always been a leader in modern advances in the auto indusrty. American and Japanees firms are both doing their part to advance solutions to the fuel crunch which in returnwill help cities become eco friendly.
This is a great step to lessen the pollution in the metropolis. I’ll give it a try if I see one around. Are these e-jeepneys have a/c? Where can we find them?
I’m interest in the ejeepney.
How much does it cost in pesos including shipping cost to
to iloilo city, philippines?
Where to buy one in the Philippines?
Thanks! Flor