Take a Ride on the Green Side

We’ve been hearing about the government’s modernization of our public transportation; replacements to vehicles in varying states of disrepair that ply through our urban streets.  While we’ve been seeing a few of these efforts on the street, I think we can all agree that there’s still a bit of work to be done on that front but it looks like we’re a step closer to seeing a solution to our woes.

Meralco recently got the greenlight for their newest subsidiary, eSakay, that would allow them to own and operate transport services that use electric energy and we got to take a sneak peek at their vehicles that will now serve a newly opened route between Mandaluyong and Makati.

Here’s what we liked about these new Public Utility Vehicles.

Goodbye, Boundary System!

One of the reasons traffic often piles up on our roads is the fact that PUVs often stop and to fill up on passengers. After all they have to make the most of their trips since these drivers have to fulfill a certain quota before they make money for themselves. Well, there’s no boundary system on these modernized PUVs.

eSakay’s drivers receive a monthly salary and benefits so they don’t have to worry about making X amount before any of it reaches their pocket. They need only worry about driving their route, which means you won’t see them waiting around with barkers to squeeze every last bit of space into a jeepney.

Safer Rides

Since these vehicles are owned by eSakay, drivers also don’t have to worry about their maintenance. This means that accidents that happen with the excuse that “Nawalan ng preno” shouldn’t happen and that regular checks to their system can be done to ensure the safetly of the people onboard and for the rest of the people on the road.

Modern Day Perks on Your Route

One thing that we absolutely loved about eSakay’s vehicles is the tech they’ve been able to put on board. Free WiFi, anyone? That’s definitely something that this Tito never experienced in his college days.

Aside from that, you’ve got USB ports on the base of your seats if your phone needs a bit of a top up, there are CCTVs for more security, the payment system has been automated so drivers don’t have to worry about passing back change (you can still pay in cash though), there are columns of fans to keep you cooler on those dreafully hot days, its got a GPS locator, plus drivers have a dashcam and a backup sensor to help set records straight if something were ever to happen or prevent it too.

Less Sound and Air Pollution in the Metro

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a plume of black smoke from a jeepney?

I know I’ve had that happen to me more than I care to remember. We mentioned that our current PUVs are in varying states of disrepair and we can definitely hear it and breathe it in. Since the eSakay vehicles run on electric, they don’t have any emissions and run really quitely too. They aren’t slouches though.

We were able to talk to some of their drivers recently and they say that these new PUVs can take on a full haul without any troubles and Meralco says that their vehicles can go up to 100kph too.

The new eSakay route goes from Mandaluyong City Hall up to MRT Buendia with the minimum fare at Php 9 with the whole trip costing Php 15. Each vehicle can seat up to 40 passengers with priority seating for Senior Citizens and PWDs too. They currently have 15 vehicles in their fleet and we hope to see more of them on the road with more routes for commuters to take as well.