Environment-friendly jeeps debut in Makati

[cc81352]

[SIZE=2]Environment-friendly jeeps debut in Makati[/SIZE]

07/04/2007 | 08:57 AM

Passenger jeeps will finally join the battle to lessen air pollution instead of adding to it, following the debut of electric jeepneys (e-jeeps) in Makati City Wednesday.

Radio station dzRH reported Wednesday that Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay was invited to personally drive one of the e-jeeps that were presented to the riding public in his city.

Each e-jeep is flat-nosed and can accommodate up to 17 passengers at a time. One of the jeeps at Wednesday's Makati City presentation was pink, with several decorations.

Conventional jeepneys have gained notoriety as smoke belchers, since most of their engines are usually reconditioned surplus parts.

Solar Electric Co. (Solarco), the distributor of the vehicles, expects the e-jeeps to serve as mobile billboards promoting a cleaner environment.

Solarco is part of Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc. (GRIPP), a network of environmental groups including Greenpeace, business firms and local government units.

Each e-jeep costs P550,000, and is equipped with five-horsepower engines running solely on electricity. An eight-hour charge can cover 120 kilometers each day at a maximum of 40 kph.

Solarco officials said a daily electric charge of an e-jeep's batteries would cost around P150, way below than the daily gasoline expense from P800 to P1,000 of passenger jeeps. - GMANews.TV

[Asus700]

if this is true, i mean it will run for 120 kms at 8 hour charge, this is great news for the environment, for the jeepney drivers and commuters alike. not so good news for oil companies

120 kms is about 15 round trips (4 kms per trip, about 8kms round trip). assuming na lang na 50% full lang each trip at 7 per passenger, P1,785 na. attractive for a typical jeepney driver.

the cost though at half a million bucks, will be stiff. sana merong financing scheme for them.

[FedEx]

nicee sannnaa tuloy tuloy na ganito sa atin iphase out lahat ng jeep pwede kaya trade in your jeep for an econojeep

[flex]

hmm ayos to ah, but un nga as what fedex have said, this should have some sort of financing schemes or perhaps taX breaks for PUJ franchises (?) who will utilize this type of environment friendly jeep.

If the gov't is really serious in protecting the environment, they have to support this one way or the other, coz we ol know which type of vehicles significantly contribute to air pollution.....it's the jeeps and second hand buses....

[chua_riwap]

Sa wakas, meron na rin tayong jeepney na environment friendly. Pero, di rin siguro pwedeng i-phase out lahat ng jeep. Baka itong elect. jeep pwede lang sa mga selected places (yung magaganda), like Makati, Alabang, Libis, Ortigas, etc. (yung di binabaha).

Paano kung baha (kahit yung mababaw lang)? Pwede ba ito?

[awing]

more stories from INQUIRER

Electric jeepney rolls out in Makati
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 07:14pm (Mla time) 07/04/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The ubiquitous jeepney, a brightly painted commuter minibus that has been roaming the Philippines since World War II, has just become healthier. The country’s first electric-powered jeepneys (e-Jeepney) rolled off Makati City Friday in an initial test drive.


The 10 to 12-seater electric-powered version of the vehicle that has its origin in surplus US Army jeeps were developed by Greenpeace and the Makati City government and financed by the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc (GRIPP) in an effort to encourage the use of alternative fuels as well as to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases on climate change.


The vehicles were made in China. The e-Jeepneys are powered by five-horsepower electric motor engines with 12 batteries that, at full capacity, allow the vehicles to run 120 to 140 kilometers at around 40 kilometers per hour. The batteries are charged for eight hours on ordinary 220-volt power sockets at a minimum cost of P120. In contrast, regular fume-spewing jeepneys guzzle P300 (US$6.50) or more of diesel each day.
Each e-Jeepney costs at least P400,000 to build, around P100,000 more than most shop-built diesel jeepneys.


Robert Puckett, president of the Solar Electric Company Inc. (Solarco), which designed the engines, said 50 electric e-Jeepneys will serve as mobile billboards in the promotion of cleaner energy at a time of growing concern over the impact of global warming due to worsening pollution.


Solarco, the sole distributor and marketer of the E-jeeps, will pilot the rest of the 50 units in Bacolod City in Negros Occidental later this month.
"The iconic jeepney remains, but without wasteful and carbon emitting diesel, while providing increased incomes to the vehicles' drivers," GRIPP’s Athena Ronquillo said. "If the project is successful, our hope is that the project will be replicated in other cities in the country and possibly other Asian capitals."


Greenpeace said Makati has agreed to provide a facility that will generate power for the jeepneys using wastes from the city's food establishments and wet markets.


"The electric jeepneys demonstrate how cities can help mitigate the problem of climate change," said Von Hernandez, campaigns director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
Ronquillo said drivers were expected to earn two or three times more because of savings on fuel.


"Greenpeace supports solutions-oriented technological and scientific innovations that can help stop climate change,” Hernandez said. “The e-Jeepneys are a clear example of our ‘Simple Lang’ project that calls upon Filipino citizens and institutions to adopt simple yet effective measures to help avert catastrophic climate change.”

[niky]

A maximum of 40 km/h?

I hope they don't go on EDSA!

But seriously, if these things can be provided at half a million, then that's decent. But the post of another tsikoteer in the e-jeepney thread hit closer to a more viable solution:

Sell the jeeps without batteries: cheaper: For jeeps in the service area, the drivers will rent batteries, then return them when they're used up and rent new ones. The rental fee will be partially for the electric charge of the batteries, and partially for the batteries themselves (but at a minimal charge).

There would be stamps on the battteries or serial numbers to allow the government to track how many charge cycles they've been through. This would help estimate the shelf-life of the batteries and further help in refining the system.

Not having seen the jeeps in person, I don't know how hard it will be to change, but having a central depot with a charging station, a portable crane (the small hand crane you often see in garages) and three or four employees, you could run a small fleet of jeepneys off of that.

[Taurus]

This would again open up for investors to venture for a new kind of business.

And opportunities as well . . . let's go GREEN !