YOU might know Bacolod already has a headstart on the wave of the future. After all, even the poor tricycle and trisikad drivers in Magsaysay Street and Yulo’s Park, and I’m sure somewhere else.
E-motorbikes are slowly making its way in Negros Occidental. It’s the middle layer between gasoline-fueled tricycles which are the most expensive and the trisikad, the cheapest.
So far, Bacolod is still limited to motorcycles. But this is just the start. Where the market stops, policy takes over.
The Duterte government plans to replace all old PUVs aged 15 years or older with environment-friendly jeepneys that have safety features.
According to Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chair Martin Delgra III, 180,000 jeepneys nationwide face replacement under the modernization program.
Gasoline-based jeepneys are to be replaced by those powered with Euro 4 engines or electrically-powered engines with solar panels for roofs.
The modern jeepney should also be equipped with safety features, like a speed limiter, closed-circuit television camera (CCTV), GPS, and dashboard camera.
The drawback is that modernization will cost the jeepney drivers an arm and a leg. The good news is that it might be not that expensive for long. Prices are expected to go down.
“We were surprised and encouraged because, as we scale up production, [pure] electric vehicles are going to be becoming cheaper and we expect battery costs are going to fall,” said James Tate, who did the research published in the journal Applied Energy with colleagues at the University of Leeds, UK.
They found out that the total cost of ownership of cars over four years, including the purchase price and depreciation, fuel, insurance, taxation and maintenance of pure electric cars came out cheapest in all the markets.
At current rates, sales of electric cars could outstrip diesel cars as early as May 2019, according to analysis by Matt Finch, at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit in the UK: “This date is incredible, as clearly it is only 18 months away.”
Tate added, “The challenge is whether the manufacturers have the capacity to generate these vehicles. Demand significantly outstrips supply.” Where profits can be made, expect the world’s factory to come to the picture.
“When I think of where EVs are going,” said William Ford Jr., Ford Motor’s longtime executive chair, using an abbreviation for electric vehicles, “it’s clearly the case that China will lead the world in EV development.”
Can the state colleges and universities in the solar power capital of the country rise up to the challenge of producing Proudly Negros-Made EVs to cater to local demands, and then later to outside the province?
(bqsanc@yahoo.com)
