QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The first of Quezon City’s e-jeepneys started to ply their routes Saturday as the City-Optimized Managed Electric Transport (Comet) was officially launched at the SM North Edsa mall.
The Comet is said to be the earth-friendly replacement of the old-fashioned, smoke-belching jeepneys plying the streets of Metro Manila and other areas nationwide.
It relies on lithium ion batteries, which can be fully charged in five hours. It can travel up to 80 km on a full charge.
According to Global Electric Transport (GET) Philippines, the Comet’s local distributor, an initial fleet of 20 Comets will be rolled out to take passengers on a 22-kilometer route covering Mindanao Avenue, Congressional Road, Luzon Avenue, and Katipunan with 30 stops end to end of its route.
It will have its depots at the SM North and LRT-Katipunan station.
The Comets will follow the current jeepney fare matrix since they are also regulated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Comet will have cash-less payment system. Passengers buy stored-value cards called GET Passes from terminal stations which they tap into the COMET’s built-in scanner when they board the jeep and tap out when they get off.
GET Philippines said that for the initial run, they will offer unlimited rides for holders of P20 GET Passes until Oct. 9. (GET Phl/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)
