Wednesday, July 11, 2007 Braga wants demo of e-jeepneys here By Grace L. Plata
DAVAO City will also get to see electronic jeepneys (e-jeepneys) up close as the City Council approved a resolution Tuesday inviting the manufacturers of e-jeepneys and like innovations to hold demonstrations in the city.
Proposed by Councilor Pilar Braga, chair of the committee on energy, transportation and communication, the resolution requests Solar Electronic Company and Gripp, the lead proponent of the E-Jeepney Initiative, and other similar groups to conduct public test-runs and demonstrations in Davao City.
According to Braga, the e-jeepney is a very viable solution and addition to cut carbon emissions, which have contributed to the global climate conditions.
"Simply said, we are in dire straits as far as preserving the environment and its occupants, and there is now the urgency to pitch in and aid in keeping Mother Nature from being reduced further to an uninhabitable place," Braga said in her privilege speech earlier in the session.
Braga added that with the positive impressions generated by the test-run in Makati City last week, similar efforts to introduce the "car of the future" locally will afford Dabawenyo businessmen the opportunity to appreciate its possible introduction in city streets.
In an earlier interview, City Administrator Wendel Avisado said the city is considering the use of e-jeepneys. However, he said the city wants the private sector to pioneer in this new investment area.
