"e-Jeepney" - The electric powered jeepney

[dprox]

While we are all embroiled with the MVPMAP PhUV, another new kid is arriving on the block.
It's called the e-Jeepney.
All reports and comments on this subject should be posted on this thread, not on the PhUV threads.
Here's the preamble :

Thursday, June 14, 2007
[SIZE="4"]E-jeepney and Jack[/SIZE]
By Michelle P. So
[SIZE="1"]http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2007/06/14/oped/michelle.p..so.caught.in.the.net.html[/SIZE]

IN a month or so, a new kind of public jeepney will be plying the streets of Bacolod City. This costs about P380,000 each, is made of fiberglass, seats only 13 including driver and doesn’t need gasoline to run. It’s an e-jeepney.

E-jeepney is an electric-powered jeepney that will debut in the streets of Bacolod, a city where the latest automobile models cruise. If you want to find out what’s new in the auto industry, you’ll find your answer in this city that’s 20 flying minutes from Cebu.

Since it does not run on gasoline or diesel, the e-jeepney is dependent on rechargeable batteries. For it to go an 80- to 100-kilometer trip a day, it needs to be charged for eight hours.

So what happens when the battery is almost drained, does the e-jeepney stop in the middle of the road, or does it warn the driver that it can go only for this distance so he can tell the passengers, “Guys, this is where you get off now. It’s only about two kilometers to your destination anyway and walking will do you good.”?

Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc. (GRIPP), the private sector group that is behind the e-jeepney endeavor, wants to test the viability and sustainability of the electric-powered mass transport in Bacolod before it brings the vehicle to other cities, maybe Cebu.

I called up Jack Jakosalem, the Cebu City councilor who seems to have an answer to whatever question I ask him, be it the distance between his house in Maria Luisa and the moon or a behavioral analysis of the mayor. Jack heads the Council committee on transportation, energy, utilities and communication.

Do you think an electric-powered jeepney can work in Cebu, Jack?

He answered: We’re moving towards that direction—using vehicles with hybrid engines, partly gasoline, partly energy. They cause less strain on our environment and our pockets. But so far, it’s still private vehicles, no public transport yet. The private cars running on hybrid engines are expensive.

Later, he texted: With the inventive instinct of the Filipinos and the jeepney being a Filipino concept, I’m sure they will find a way to make the jeepney a cheaper and more maintenance-free mode of public transportation eventually.”

Off the cuff, I think the e-jeepney might be environmentally friendly but it might not be practical for Cebu City where the increasing number of vehicles is aggravating the traffic congestion. If the e-jeepney seats only 12 passengers (I think its Chinese makers have the average Asian size in mind), then it has the size of a multicab. What Cebu needs is a mass transport similar to the KMK buses that accommodate passengers of three to four 12F jeepneys.

There is more to the e-jeep than passenger sizes, fiberglass body and probably a crocheted sign of “God knows Hudas not pay.” It will be powered by electricity that is produced from waste. The e-jeep will be charged by batteries that will be charged at a power plant.

As described in news reports, the power plant consists of a generator, a high solid anaerobic digester and gas engine. Organic refuse will be emptied into the digester where this will be dissolved and converted into gas, which in turn will be pumped into an engine that will now produce the electricity. A physicist or a science teacher, or maybe even Jack, can explain this process better than I do.

When I visit Sun.Star Bacolod next month, I’ll try the e-jeepney, but I’ll be crossing my fingers that I get to my destination before it goes low-batt.


[SIZE="1"]PHOTO & CAPTION FROM PDI 05 JUNE 2007, FRONT PAGE[/SIZE]

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[SIZE="1"]BACKGROUND NOTES ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES & SOLAR POWER[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Those who want to learn a bit more about how electric vehicles work, can visit the ff pages from HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM.

* Introduction to How Electric Cars Work
* An Electric Car Example
* Doing a Conversion
* Inside an Electric Car
* Charging an Electric Car
* The Magna-Charge System
* Battery Problems
* Electric Car Video

The acknowledged leader in cutting edge e-car research & development is Tesla Motors.

Those who want to know how solar cells work, visit
* Solving Solar-Power Issues
* Solar Car Video[/SIZE]

[niky]

Interesting. With current locally available battery technology, I don't know how well this will work, but it's interesting.

[jundogg]

another good idea when it comes to philippine automotive industry.
big savings on petroleum, but needs a lot of power!

ive seen one like this on tv, i think it's in australia.
battery powered delivery mini-van. more than a dozen of car batteries are used, connected in series, to power up and make the whole vehicle run.

recharge stations along the way, built-in "super-chargers" or solar panels could help. 8 hours of charging might waste a lot of time for the driver to meet his boundary.

[jedi]

I believe that this is also the same e-jeepney na ilalaunch sa makati sa june 22, nakausap ko people from greenpeace and i am waiting for their invitation para tsikot can cover the said event.

sa kwento nila sakin, 2 hours charging nito, good for 6 to 8 hours na sya, dumating na yata sya the other day from china. ang cost daw nito is around 400k. Magkakaroon din ng 1 week public showing ito sa makati.

[drey]

so di ito Pinoy - made?

[jedi]

* drey, yes definitely, di sya pinoy made

[architect]

Hmmm. Maybe we can install solar panels on the roof of the Tableta as well - eTableta?

[jpdm]

* drey, yes definitely, di sya pinoy made

Ay ganun po?di bale gawa na lang pinoy version.maraming magagaling na manufacturer ng AUV, jeepney sa Iloilo, Bacolod at Cebu. Magaganda at matibay pa. surplus nga lang engine. Sana makipag-collaborate din MVPMAP dito sa mga ito.

[safeorigin]

e-Tableta, eh? hmmm... parang vw van ng hippy siguro kakalabasan nun.

[mazdamazda]

Hmmm... not really a new thing... just plop in a few lead-acid batteries and you have your electric vehicle ready. The problem with lead-acid batteries is that they take up a lot of time to charge and that they are bulky & heavy.

Electric vehicles might be more feasible to use for low load applications like for postal & delivery services.