The Philippine Jeepney gets a tech make-over

Yes! Finally! Sustainable transportation gets a big push in Quezon City, Philippines. I love the current Philippine Jeepney and how symbolic it is of our culture: communal and colorful. I'm not too crazy about the noise and pollution it emits though. But! It's cooler cousin has arrived.

Officially called the GET COMETs (Global Electric Transport City Optimized Managed Electric Transport), the electric jeepney is a fully electric-powered city shuttle made of fiberglass that runs on lithium ion phosphate batteries. It can go as fast as 60 kilometers per hour while traveling 80 to 100 kilometers a day until its next battery charge.  What makes it different from the traditional jeepney are the features inside the vehicle: wider windows for ventilation, a 6 feet head clearance that allows a passenger to stand inside and a side door instead of a back door so that a person can get down unto the sidewalk. As far transformation goes, this is exactly what the so called,"king of the road" needs, which is a tech make-over.

And here's a happy piece of information for our tech addicted greenistas: each COMET has free WiFi connection and also is equipped with GPS and CCTV camera. The ejeepneys will have operators at an assigned command center who will manage the COMETs though the GPS and will direct the ejeepneys where they need to go.

Photo by Pia Ranada

I haven't ridden in one yet but I'm already in love with the COMET. And here's why: it has zero carbon emissions. According to reports, it will be 50% more efficient than diesel jeeps. 

By the end of 2014, thirty electric powered jeepneys will start their route from SM North EDSA to LRT 2 Katipunan Station with 14 stops along the way. These are: Road 3, Congressional Avenue cor Mindanao Avenue, Northridge Plaza, Congressional Ave cor Visayas, Congressional Ave cor Tandang Sora, UP Professors Subdivision, Tierra Pura, Talipapa, Capitol Hills Drive, Magsasay Ave/UP GT Toyota Gate, Quirino Ave/UP Narra Gate, J Escaler St/Elizabeth Hall Building, Loyola Heights Brgy Hall/Regis Building, and Ateneo Gate 2 Overpass

For the northbound route, it will stop at: Ateneo Gate 2 Overpass, Miriam College, UP Town Center, Balara Jeepney Station/LWUA, MWSS (Maynilad Water), Capitol Hills Drive, Talipapa, Mira Nilla Subdivision, Tierra Verde, Congressional Avenue cor Tandang Sora, Congressional Avenue cor Visayas Avenue, Circle C/Cherry Fooderama, Puregold Mindanao Avenue/BJMP and Road 16. 

Passengers will have to avail of a reloadable card and the ejeepney fare will cost the same as the traditional jeepney which is Php8.50. 

We've seen ejeepneys in Makati and etricycles in Pasig City which was the beginning sparks of an etransportation revolution. Now, the Asian Development Bank and Department of Energy already have a joint project that seeks to replace 200,000 conventional tricycles with electric versions. The 5-year project will see to it that 100,000 electric tricycles or e-trikes will be used all over the country by the end of 2017.

I'm really really excited about this. The hope is to eventually eliminate the traditional jeepney which will eradicate along with it, the pollution and the congestion that comes with it. If the launch at the end of the year pushes through, this will be the best Christmas gift ever :)