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ENVIRONMENT-friendly buses fueled by liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) will soon ply major thoroughfares in Metro
Manila.
This was
revealed by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza who
welcomed the proposal to introduce the more
fuel-efficient, dual-gas engine buses in what was seen
as the start of the phaseout of old and dilapidated
units that contributes largely to the deterioration of
the quality of air in Metro Manila.
Four
prototype units of the LPG-powered buses were brought to
the main office of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) in Diliman, Quezon City, last
week.
“I
welcome this initiative because the use of LPG in
motorized vehicles will improve the quality of air in
Metro Manila, whose dramatic improvement we expect to
see in the next two years,” Atienza said.
He is
seeking the assistance of the various local governments
to help enforce environmental laws, particularly against
air pollution, admitting that the DENR is not capable of
ensuring full compliance of the law on the part of
transport sector, particularly bus companies and
individual owners of public utility vehicles.
“We are,
however, seeking the assistance of all local governments
in enforcing antipollution and all the environmental
laws, because the DENR cannot do it successfully without
the much-needed help from them,” Atienza said.
“If we
don’t improve the quality of air, respiratory diseases
and global warming will come about. That’s why the DENR
is not only implementing reforestation projects but also
programs to clean lakes, bays and other bodies of water
in order to improve the quality of air and prevent
global warming,” Atienza said
Atienza
said buses, taxis and tricycles using diesel and
gasoline roam around Metro Manila without passing the
required emission tests.
“We can
reduce air pollution in Metro Manila by 40 percent to 50
percent if we can only convince these transport vehicles
to shift from the use of diesel and gasoline to LPG,”
Atienza added.
In a
visit to the DENR last week, Philippine LPG Bus and Taxi
Co. Inc. chairman Alexis Cowel said four units of LPG
buses that the company initially purchased from King
Long Philippine International Bus Inc., the LPG bus
distributor, will test run plying the
Fairview-C5 Road
route.
“The
buses are city bus type model having Yu Chai engine and
equipped with 240-liter LPG tanks,” Cowel said.
Cowel
also said that if proven effective, a total of 200 units
of such model of LPG buses coming from
Xiamen,
China
will be fielded in Metro Manila; and San Pedro, Biñan,
and Sta. Rosa in Laguna. With TJ Agcaoili
He said
that the project is being undertaken jointly by the
Office of the President (OP), DENR, Department of
Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB),
Department of Energy (DOE), Board of Investments (BOI)
and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). |
