Sarao Motors Inc. aims to release fully electric jeepneys in the third or fourth quarter of the year, Sarao Operations Supervisor Leonard John C. Sarao told the media on the sidelines of the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) event.
“The thing is, when the modern system started, the sale of traditional jeepneys stopped, because they cannot be registered for public transportation,” said Mr. Sarao.
So, the modern system, started in 2016. [DoTr] he already touched us at that time. They asked us if we could build a modern jeepney. So, they gave us a set of guidelines, and after that, we proceeded to make our first prototype,” he said.
Mr. Sarao said their first prototype was fully electric and was on display for the Department of Transportation (DoTr). However, it did not go well. When the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) guidelines came into force, they set another precedent.
According to him, the comment of their first prototype was that it did not look like a traditional Philippine jeepney. He said Sarao was asked to make a modern looking PUVMP jeepney.
So, what we did was, we tried to incorporate the design references of the traditional jeepney, but we still comply with the PNS, the Philippine New Standard, that the height requirement should be as follows. [are] you’re already on the sidelines, [with] air conditioning, Wi-Fi, CCTV, [and] PWD access. So, we reworked all our prototyping for that new model we made,” said Mr. Sarao.
Mr. Sarao said their new modern fully electric jeepney was made in collaboration with Tembo, an Australian company, which supplied electric power trains. According to him, they did not have the resources to manufacture their powertrains yet here in the Philippines.
“One of the reasons why you don’t see many that are produced in this country is that they are expensive, first of all they are bought from foreign countries, they are mass produced, they have machines to build them, our local builders still make them by hand, they still appreciate the art of our builders, our builders, our artists,” he said.
According to Mr. Sarao, traditional jeepney sales stopped when PUVMP started as traditional jeepneys can no longer be franchised by DoTr. Sarao Motors sales are now for private individuals and businesses.
“So, since they used that, our sales have decreased a little, because people are afraid that later, the modern system will not continue, because until now the jeepneys cannot be completely eliminated. So, people are still holding on,” said Mr. Sarao.
“In fact, as a producer, I am open to whatever the consumers want. I want to give them a choice. I don’t want to force them to buy only this product. So, again, it’s a waiting game of what will happen when this program is launched. If all the traditional ones will really disappear, they will be forced to enter modernity, or maybe we can improve them or remodel them,” he said.
Mr. Sarao said he thinks there is still a way to honor or respect the culture of jeepneys, which they are trying to incorporate now into the modern jeepneys they are developing.
“[The modern jeepneys] It doesn’t look like the public transport I know here in the Philippines. You will see that it looks like a cab. That’s what we’re trying to maintain. So, in a way, we can change that a little bit to match the traditional jeepneys. The works of traditional art they have. The vibration of our jeepneys. That is what we are trying as a company to keep the core or spirit of jeepney there,” he said.
Mr. Sarao also said that they have not finished upgrading as the units still lack air-conditioning.
“We’re still finishing the prototype. So, hopefully, this year, our goal is maybe the 3rd or 4th quarter of this year, we’ll be able to get it out because it’s still missing the aircon. Right now, the parts are ready, but we’re still building the ducting. So, when that’s all good, we’ll see.” – Kaizzer Angela Marie V. Manuba
