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10,000 e-jeepneys in PHL by 2019 — transport group


Some 10,000 electronic jeepneys are expected to ply the Philippine roads in the next three years, transport group Kilusan sa Pagbabago ng Industriya ng Transportasyon (KAPIT) said Wednesday.

There are more than 200,000 registered jeepneys in the Philippines and the group intends to boost the number with clean energy vehicles.

"Our target in the next six months is 1,000 jeepneys in Metro Manila, and 10,000 nationwide in the next three years," KAPIT Chair Vigor Mendoza II told reporters on the sidelines of the launching of the Bagong Jeeps or BEEPS in Quezon City.

Jeepney operators may avail of themselves of new BEEPS for P1.0 million to P1.5 million, under a zero-down payment scheme.

Under a financing scheme with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), operators pay a monthly fee of P27,000 for seven years following a six-year grace period.

"We're in the vicinity of around P5,500 to P6,000 a day. Kung no down payment, they have to pay around P27,000 a month or P1,000 a day," Mendoza noted.

"In fuel savings and maintenance alone, halos kuha na nila 'yung P1,000 nila. Sa fuel, they save around something like P280 a day, kasi 10-liter savings a day. On maintenance, they save around one to two hundred pesos a day. Plus increase in revenues, pasok na pasok na 'yan," he added.

With 540 to 660 passenger load transactions per day, BEEPS supposedly entail a maintenance cost of P1,500 per month.

"With this load factor, one BEEP can replace two small jeeps without affecting income, and at the same time, reducing carbon footprint and the number of vehicles on the road. BEEPS have a smoke emission grade of 0.58 to 1.74," KAPIT said in a separate statement.

According to Mendoza, there are some 500 pending applications from operators under the zero-down payment program.

"Right now we have around 500 operators lined up but not all of them will pass," he said, noting that both operators and drivers are subject to periodic seminars. — VDS, GMA News

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