When we travel, there are lots of things to consider so we could experience culture and tradition. And one thing that I observe and I make sure to experience every time I travel is the mode of transportation. Transportation is a big part that describes the country. It describes the characteristic of a country and it is part of the heritage. And of all of the countries that I've visited, I am so proud that I proved that we are the only one who has a Jeepney- and it is the only public transportation who holds such art and creativity! More than any countries, I find it so smart and unique that we invented our own bus version- proudly made in the Philippines and invented by a Filipino - Sarao.
During the last election, I was engaged in a conversation, perhaps a debate, wether the government should remove all of the Jeepneys in the country because it is one big cause of traffic jams.Being a nationalist, my take is that Jeepneys shouldn't be remove because it is a national heritage and it is a Filipino Icon for transportation. It is a part of the Philippines that we cannot just remove. Then here goes the E-Jeepneys- an electronic version of Jeepneys that said to be pro-environment. According to its official website www.ejeepney.com.ph, eJeepneys or electric Jeepneys are the first public transport of its kind in Southeast Asia(2008). Wow! Hearing that it's "the first in South East Asia" sounds excellent! The eJeepney runs on pure electricity supplied by rechargeable automotive batteries thus it does not consume either gasoline or diesel to operate. But, do you think that it is really the next big thing that will revoluntionize the transportation system in our country?
At first, I was so encouraged in supporting this kind of vehicle since I am an environmentalist as well. But studying and researching further about this, made me think twice because environmentally friendly alone does not necessarily tackle other issues like traffic management. I've also learned that eJeepneys are imported and made in China- and it's a big NO NO for me! JEEPNEY IS FILIPINO. So it is so ironic that it will now be made in China. I hope that we start manufacturing our own.
(Left: Traditional Jeepney Right: eJeepney)
Now, let's list down things to consider in choosing wether the mode of transport is efficient or not:
1. Accessibility- This primarily deals with the ease of getting or boarding a vehicle. If a mode is not easily accessible then it loses its usefulness because of its unavailability in a certain condition. It would be almost 10 years since its invention, but I never experienced riding an E-jeepneys yet. So I believe that there is a slow progress in this innovation and it is not yet fully accessible. It is not yet centralized that there are only specific cities where it is available.
Winner: Traditional Jeepneys
2. Cost and Cost of service- Based on my research, it said to be that the cost of a brand new eJeepney is double the price of the original one But! the good thing is that it saves up to 80% of the money they would normally use to gas up their car. High cost of vehicle plus low cost of gasoline means the same amount of fare(cost of service) with the traditional jeepneys. Thus, e-Jeepneys didn't topped it off in this criteria.
Winner: Draw
3. Fuel efficiency/ carbon emission- Obviously, eJeepneys win this criteria because it is environmentally friendly and reduce the carbon foot prints. But guess what? Electricity (which is the source of energy of the eJeepneys) still affects the climate change because of the oil-fired power plants; so to be actually environment friendly, they should use solar powers in recharging the vehicle. Hence, this factor still have considerations.
Winner: eJeepneys
4. Speed- I researched some forums to get information from actual user experience. And according to most of the users, they said that eJeepneys are slower than the traditional Jeepneys. Considering the "Filipino Time" trade-mark; then this is not applicable to many Filipinos who are always in a rush. Though, I've experienced this scene on where I'm really running late for school but then the traditional Jeepney has to stop to load up some gasoline in a gasoline station and it takes some time and delays. In eJeepney's case, we will eliminate this scenario, unless, worst comes to worst, the vehicle ran out of charge or battery.
Winner: Traditional Jeepneys
5. Capacity- In my opinion, "Electric" sounds like a toy or a gadget for me, hence, it's weaker than the idea of machines - it still sounds appealing and much stronger. So for the capacity, I think it is obvious that Traditional Jeepneys have much more capacity to withstand calamities such as floods and storms than eJeepneys. Another negative thing with eJeepneys is that since it is rechargable and rans out of battery, then it could only run for a short distance. Thus, it can't replace the capacity of Traditional Jeepneys that serve longer routes.
Winner: Traditional Jeepneys
6. Safety- We all know that now a days, there are a lot of "kaskasero", "barumbado" and rude jeepney drivers. But it falls down to a "driver's attitude" criteria and it is not impossible that the eJeepneys could have that kind of drivers too; eliminate that factor, instead, consider "safety" when it comes to the machine itself- For so many years, it is proven that Traditional Jeepneys can stand strong and last long even if it is even older than my age. Though, depending on the place, since Traditional Jeepneys are open unlike the eJeepneys, it is unsafe to use or expose your gadgets because some pick pockets might grab it unlike on eJeepneys which are close. All of these factors are case to case basis but what really caught my attention and is really alarming was the news that there was a burned eJeepney in Quezon City last May 31, 2015. Unfortunately, this case scenario makes the Traditional Jeepney as a winner for this criteria.
Winner: Traditional Jeepney
7. Comfort- There are some eJeepneys which are airconditioned and there are some which are not. Same on the Traditional Jeepneys, there are already some which are airconditioned. So it's a draw for this factor. However, it is obvious that majority of the traditional Jeepneys are old(older than me) and causes discomfort to the passengers. And sitting like a sardines due to the system of filling up passengers, is way more a lot of discomfort. Since the eJeepneys are new, and it is also planned to be innovated with automated fare collection system, CCTV, wifi and GPS system, then it serves more comfortability to passengers.
Winner: eJeepneys
VERDICT
Weighing it down, traditional Jeepney (4 out of 7) is the winner in our analyzation based on the factors in considering a good mode of transportation. But I am not closing my decision not to support eJeepneys, I am still happy that Filipinos are still trying to take our transportation services to the next level. But please, please, please, let's manufacture our own! Honestly, that's the only big thing that I consider. And eventually, I hope that the art and creativity will still remain because as you can see, there are already slight modifications on the design- yeah it was modernized.
So, what do you think? Are you into eJeepneys or Traditional Jeepneys? I would definitely want to try our own kind of electric public vehicle if I passed by places which it is available. Let me know your thoughts on the comment section below! Shout out to my classmates in this class if ever you passed by this blog post, please feel free to comment your blog links below so others could hear your opinions too! :) Lastly, shout out to my professor who is the reason why I will be blogging like this, weekly, Arch. Ted De Paz! Stay tuned for more topics! <3
Resources:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/51741-one-million-electric-vehicles-ph
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/geography/transportation/factors-to-consider-while-choosing-the-most-suitable-mode-of-transport/42129/
https://amp.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/2y8e7n/comet_electronic_jeepney_vs_the_conventional/
http://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2017/05/19/hope-for-the-e-jeepney/
http://www.rappler.com/nation/51741-one-million-electric-vehicles-ph
http://www.philstar.com/nation/6730/growing-critique-e-jeepney?nomobile=1
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/geography/transportation/factors-to-consider-while-choosing-the-most-suitable-mode-of-transport/42129/
https://planningtank.com/transportation/factors-to-consider-when-choosing-mode-of-transport
http://www.topgear.com.ph/news/motoring-news/what-really-happened-to-the-burned-comet-electric-jeepney-in-quezon-city
http://www.cger.nies.go.jp/gcp/pdf/a20080204/symposium/Todoc.pdf
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