THE electric jeepney, or e-jeepney, touted to be a cleaner, safer, renewable alternative to fossil fuel-based public transport, has finally been given the green light to ply the country’s public roads.

This was announced Tuesday by the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer (GRIPP) and the environment group Greenpeace, which is promoting e-jeepneys in the Philippines. 

GRIPP and Greenpeace welcomed the go signal from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). It took the DOTC 10 months to classify and allow e-jeepneys to operate on major roads as a form of public transportation.

The e-jeepney was launched on July 4, 2007, as part of a larger initiative called the Climate-Friendly Cities Project. 

The project demonstrates how cities can help mitigate the problem of climate change through implementing measures that would avoid the use of climate change-inducing fossil fuels. 

Through the project, a fleet of electric-powered jeepneys will derive energy from biodegradable wastes from the city’s wet markets, food establishments and households, thereby helping mitigate climate change even as it addresses urban problems such as air pollution and solid waste, while providing enhanced incomes to the jeepney drivers.

The project is sponsored in part by the Dutch Doen Foundation and is currently supported by Makati, Baguio and Puerto Princesa cities.

The go signal comes after 10 months of waiting and several delays at the DOTC Planning and Transport Division. The guidelines for the e-jeepneys were signed and issued on April 30.

The guidelines classify the e-jeepney as “a utility vehicle for private or public use, for non-commercial or commercial purposes or be hired to transport goods and passengers, subject to all applicable rules and regulations governing public-transport vehicles.”

“GRIPP welcomes this much- anticipated set of guidelines for electric vehicles as a major milestone in our implementation of the Climate-Friendly Cities Project, especially at a time when skyrocketing diesel and fossil-fuel prices have considerably decreased the income of jeepney drivers. 

The DOTC’s go signal also means that we can now proceed with scaling up e-jeepney fleets in various host cities, giving the Philippines the opportunity to leapfrog into climate-friendly sustainable transport,” GRIPP chairperson Athena Ballesteros said.

GRIPP said the next steps after the release of the guidelines are:

1) publication of the guidelines in major newspapers;

2) drafting and approval of the implementing rules and regulations;

3) Land Transportation Office (LTO) registration; and

4) The Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board’s granting of franchises. 

Project proponents are hopeful the registration and issuance of plates for the e-jeepneys will be speeded up. 

GRIPP said LTO chief Alberto Suansing has committed his full support and will work with GRIPP and its partners for the speedy registration of the units of the pilot fleet launched last year in Makati City, as well as and those about to be ordered by other cities now involved in the project.

Support on a national level, however, is crucial to ensure the successful replication of the project, as well as other renewable- energy initiatives. 

GRIPP and Greenpeace called on the national government to help reduce tariffs for pioneering renewable energy (RE) technologies, including those for sustainable public transport, and to provide technical, financial and institutional support for renewable energy-based power plants such as those that will power the e-jeepneys.

Both organizations emphasized the urgent need for concerted global action to stop climate change means there should be no delay for the right policies to be in place.

“While Greenpeace welcomes this new set of guidelines, we lament the fact that it took the DOTC 10 months to take action. 

“This reflects the Philippine government’s current response to climate change—slow and totally inadequate. 

“Our vulnerability to the impacts of this disaster means we need to implement solutions now.  

“Aside from supporting initiatives such as the Climate-Friendly Cities Project, the national government should institute large-scale climate-change solutions such as phasing out coal-fired power plants and the immediate passage of a strong renewable-energy legislation,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia climate and energy campaigner Jasper Inventor.

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