Philippine Asian News Today Vol 18 No 20 | Page 27

October 16 - 31, 2016

PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY

B3

MOTORING NEWS
Self-driving truck successfully delivers 45,000 cans of beer
First, there were self-driving cars, then buses, and now a
self-driving truck, which has successfully delivered a load of Budweiser beer.
The truck is a culmination
of the efforts from Otto, a company acquired by Uber sometime in August. Otto then partnered with Anheuser-Busch to
ship 45,000 cans of Budweiser
beer 120 miles from Fort Collins,
Colorado, to Colorado Springs,
reports Recode.
As insurance, a professional
truck driver was inside the truck
the entire time. However, he was
never called upon to intervene as

the truck made its way from exit
to exit. Its programming was set
up to hand over control to a human driver when it needed to exit
the freeway.
Lior Ron, co-founder of
Otto, stated, “By embracing this
technology, both organizations
are actively contributing to the
creation of a safer and more efficient transportation network.”
The partnership with Anheuser-Busch only lasted for this
one trip where the company paid
Otto $470 to make the delivery.
However, the point of the exercise
was to have a proof-of-concept
that Otto’s technology is close to

being market-ready.
When the technology does
become available for the market,
it will be under a service called

UberFreight. And it will not be
alone as other companies such
as Convoy are also exploring
emerging self-driving solutions. (

Alfred Bayle
Otto self-driving truck making its beer run. Inq)

Muntinlupa declared e-jeepney capital of PH
Based on the number of
electric jeepneys plying the city
of Muntinlupa, it is easy to see
why it was declared Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines
(EVAP) as the current “e-jeepney
capital of the country. “
Building its reputation as
the greenest city in the country
pivoted around its advocacy to
extensively use electric jeepneys
in specific sites in the city. This
clear and deliberate policy compels the local government unit to
run a viable and enviable local
transport system using efficient
and non-polluting e-jeepneys.
Muntinlupa City is an early
adopter among the local government units in fielding the
eco-friendly electric vehicles.
Currently it has the most number
of e-jeepneys running in one city,
thanks to the efforts of the local
government unit and the private
sector alike.
In 2015, the city registered
14 e-jeepneys. Today there are
over 30 operating electric vehicles plying specific routes in the
city. Providing both free rides and
Rommel Juan, president of the
Electric Vehicle Association of
the Philippines (EVAP) observes
that the city gives free rides to its
residents and they love it.
Muntinlupa City Mayor
Jaime Fresnedi launched this

pioneering program using smart
cards. Holders who possess the
cards can use the free green
public transport system. But the
popular program is inclusive,
and those without a yellow card
holder, need only to sign a logbook and the ride is free.
“It truly is a remarkable effort by the local government in
introducing green transport to
more commuters and gaining
acceptance for them. Their operations template is definitely
something worth emulating by
other LGUs in other parts of the
country,” Juan says.
The EVAP president
says the Green Public Transport System of Muntinlupa is
a prime example of the political will of eco-friendly LGU
officials that other LGUs may
learn from.
“We hope that more cities introduce electric vehicle
initiatives in their own areas
in other parts of the country
and push the modernization
of our public transport system,” Juan encourages.
A quick look at the
Barangay Hall in Muntinlupa reveals ten yellow ejeepneys parked at their respective charging bays. Just
right across the Barangay
Hall inside the South Star

Jeepney Terminal, there are two
parking slots allotted specifically
for e-jeepneys. Two additional
e-jeepneys are fielded inside the
plush Ayala Alabang Village.
The biggest electric fleet in
the city however is the e-jeepney
public transport system being
managed by EVEEI or the Electric Vehicle Expansion Enterprises Inc. inside Filinvest City
Alabang. EVEEI was given the
right to operate a fleet of electric
jeepneys within the 240-hectare
Filinvest City, the flagship real es-

tate development of the Filinvest
Development Group.
Called the Filinvest City 360
Eco Loop, about 20 e-jeepneys
service the bustling population
of workers, office staff, shoppers,
visitors and residents of the huge
mixed-use real estate development.
EVEEI General Manager
Rex Vergel says that by taking a
ri