Mandaue welcomes ‘e-buses’

The local government of Mandaue City in Cebu province has signed an agreement with the Global Electric Transport for the deployment of electric vehicles in selected routes.

Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said that the introduction of the electric buses will address transport needs in the city and at the same time promote environmental awareness by reducing carbon footprint.

He also stressed that the local government is keen on contributing for a cleaner, greener future for Mandaue City.

Under the agreement, the transport company will deploy at least 10 Community Optimized Managed Electric Transport buses in Mandaue while the city will provide a charging station, parking areas and bus stops.

The GET will also provide the necessary maintenance and cleaning of the vehicles and training for hired drivers, among others.

Cortes hopes to integrate electric buses into its public transport networks to help minimize air pollution.

The Comet buses have a capacity of 30 passengers and powered by electricity and not by gasoline as used by conventional vehicles. It is fully airconditioned, has a CCTV camera, Internet and a mobile application.

Meantime, Mandaue's Traffic Enforcement Agency Legal and Investigative Division head Hyll Retuya said that they were still finalizing the routes of the bus. However, based on the initial plan, the bus will travel from Mandaue City to Lapu-Lapu City and Liloan town.

Retuya told DAILY TRIBUNE that the e-buses will cater to senior citizens, persons with disability, city hall employees, and other sectoral groups for free. The city government will issue riding passes.

He added that the e-buses will probably ply the city's roads in December as the city still need to install the charging stations and inspect the parking spaces.