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Sun.Star: E-jeeps to test Baguio streets


The pollution-free electronic jeepney is coming to test Baguio City's streets during the Panagbenga festival. "Investors of the e-jeepney would bring some units to test if the vehicle could withstand Baguio City's terrain," Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. has said. If the e-jeepney survives the test, Bautista said, the city government would help the manufacturer in selling the vehicle in Baguio. Baguio City and the cities of Cebu, Manila and Davao are members of the Clean Cities Coalition -- a group that promotes the use of renewable energy for motor vehicles to lessen air pollution. An e-jeepney, which uses electricity for power, costs about P900, 000 while an ordinary jeepney costs around P150, 000 to P300, 000. "The e-jeepney was first showcased in Bel-Air, Makati City. But, the vehicle’s capability to endure the winding and uphill roads of Baguio is yet to be tested," Bautista said. The e-jeepney is a project of the climate-friendly cities led by the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc. in partnership with Greenpeace, Bacolod and Makati cities, Solar Electric Company, Philippine Biosciences Company and the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines. The project aims to use energy from biodegradable waste from waste markets, food establishments and households to power an environment-friendly public transport system. In Baguio, emissions from vehicles were identified by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) as the leading source of air pollution. Electric powered motor vehicle is nothing new around the world. In Europe, a company is already testing the capability of a hybrib bus capable of transporting more than 50 passengers at a time. Hybrids are those which use electricity to run a motor with a regular gasoline or bio-diesel or natural gas engine as back up when the bus could not manage steep climbs. The e-jeepney is not equipped with a back-up engine, but the vehicle could be modified to have such an engine to be able to negotiate uphill streets in Baguio City. - SunStar Baguio

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