THE Cebu City Government will acquire three electric buses from Barcelona, Spain to test the efficiency of using modern vehicles compared to traditional petroleum-powered vehicles.

Councilor James Cuenco, chairman of the committee on transportation, told SunStar Cebu on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, that the e-buses will arrive in Cebu City before Christmas day.

This move came after Councilor Nestor Archival filed a resolution in the City Council urging the city government to look into the possibility of using electricity-powered vehicles as an effort to save money amid the high cost of fuel.

Cuenco said he and Councilor Joel Garganera, who chairs the environment committee on the environment, are fully supporting the proposal of Archival.

Archival recently said the city government is spending around P400 million on the purchase of petroleum products and maintenance costs of the city-owned vehicles.

Garganera’s committee report has “favorably endorsed” the adoption of electric vehicles as a sustainable mode of transportation in the city.

The report recommended the strategic placement and availability of charging stations, and the assurance of a sufficient supply of spare parts should this mode of transport be adopted.

According to Cuenco, he personally inspected the e-buses in Barcelona and the vehicles showed that they are more efficient compared to traditional vehicles.

A single e-bus has an operational cost of P3.50 per kilometer, significantly lower than the P32 per kilometer operational cost of a traditional gas-powered vehicle, Cuenco said.

The cost of each electric bus is P3 million and Cuenco said negotiations are still ongoing for the city government to enter into a private-public partnership so it can be deployed as a public utility vehicle.

After the three buses’ arrival in Cebu City, Cuenco said they will be used in the City Hall operations as part of its pilot testing.