NEV transitioning, one island at a time
Last Sunday, in this space, I likened the disparity between private vehicle owners and public transport commuters in the country to that of a buffet and a soup kitchen, where nearly all the technological advancements in mobility and transport are served to the private sector, while public transport is left with the stale leftovers of outdated ICE technology.
Environment and transport advocates are justifiably frustrated that the transition to clean energy in public transport hasn’t been as significantly felt compared to that for private car owners.
The Department of Energy’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau Director Patrick T. Aquino said that “more support could be provided for the transition.” He disclosed that, as of January 2025, the country only has “32 routes with 364 e-PUVs.”
Aquino explained, “The public transport model abroad is mostly operated by the government. It makes the transition easier in that sense if (public) officials say ‘go that way,’ like China.”
Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) president Edmund Araga observed that the mass transport sector’s transition to EVs has been “very slow.”
He explained, “Even if the government promotes EVs as a top priority, their rollout faces a lot of challenges, as the implementers are giving a hard time to PUV modernization.”
Affordability issue
Araga added: “Sustainability is lacking as these operators are dilly-dallying with the program, and some who comply cannot sustain operations because they did not follow the program and cannot pay for their amortizations. Another (issue) is the after-sales service of the units, where some had difficulty securing parts and components. The price for an electric bus is still not affordable, as most operators are not capable of buying such an expensive unit. As for green route plans, local government units (LGUs) are not keen on implementing it and they are more inclined to using illegal e-trikes already operating nationwide. The pedicabs are shifting to affordable e-bikes and e-trikes.”
EVAP chair Ferdinand Raquelsantos agrees that the gap between the private and public transport sector has been widening.
“We started the electric jeepney back in 2007 with 28 units deployed in Legaspi Village in Makati City. (At the start), the e-jeepney proliferated in other cities and municipalities, until the transport cooperatives couldn’t pay the amortization on the vehicles due to poor route rationalization, while the number of existing old jeepneys didn’t decrease,” Raquelsantos narrated.
He added that the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) “got affected” during the pandemic. Now, during the Marcos administration, Raquelsantos disclosed that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) changed the program to Public Transport Modernization Program, “which is tied to the Department of Trade and Industry’s Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS).”
Raquelsantos hopes that the “program draft will be done soon, though that was slated to be completed in the 3rd quarter last year.”
He said, “Once (the new program) rolls out, we hope to see more e-jeepneys on the road. For the e-buses, we are seeing the prices of Chinese e-buses going down.”
Raquelsantos also said that a number of logistics companies have been shifting their delivery fleets to electric. “Supposedly, these 4- or 6-wheel e-Trucks are also exempted from number coding. As for the e-jeepneys, hopefully there will be available funds from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Landbank to provide loans to cooperatives, though I’ve heard that the DOTr is also tapping the private banks.”
Raquelsantos cites Boracay Island as a model of a successful transition to NEVs in its public transport system. “Boracay is almost 100 percent using e-trikes. And I see more resort shuttle vans going electric.”
That’s one island down, thousands more to go.
