Hybrid train to make initial run in Cauayan City

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has formally turned over the Hybrid Electric Road Train (HERT) to the Cauayan City government in Isabela province, which will adopt the mass transport technology in a bid to control the number of smoke-belching public utility tricycles proliferating in the city’s national highway and secondary roads.

Cauayan City Mayor Bernard Faustino Dy formally accepted the ceremonial keys to the HERT from Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña and DOST Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) director Robert Dizon last Thursday.

The handover ceremony was one of the opening day activities during the two-day Smarter Cities Readiness Challenge Workshop hosted by Cauayan City and DOST Region 2, as the local government unit pursued its bid to be compliant with the framework laid out by the ASEAN Smart Cities Network.

Dy said that the Cauayan City government will follow the advice of the DOST to commercially operate the HERT by charging fares to raise revenues and make it a sustainable operation, as well as to showcase the feasibility of the HERT as a viable, commercial mass transport technology.

By charging fare, Dy said they will also address opposition raised by public utility tricycle operators and drivers against the HERT adoption project.

“It’s not free. We cannot run it for free,” Dy told The STAR in a phone interview.

“We will do test runs until we pass an ordinance setting the fare schedule,” Dy added, saying that the MIRDC will operate the HERT until they finish the technology transfer and test runs.

The train route has eight stops, including the Cauayan City Hall, public market, Isabela State University-Cauayan City campus, Cauayan City Airport and the University of Perpetual Help.

The road train is a hybrid transport technology that also features battery charging aside from running on diesel fuel, making it more environment friendly. With a capacity of 240 passengers, it is offered as a solution to the public transport problems in cities across the country.

“Hopefully, this will create an awareness and acceptance among the commuters and locals that our technology exists,” Dizon said.

“It is our mission to translate research and development into a technology that can be used and downloaded to the people,” Dela Peña said.

The DOST has been encouraging LGUs to tap technology as it provides an environment-friendly and energy-efficient alternative to the smoke-belching jeepneys and tricycles, or the high-priced foreign light rail and traditional train technologies offered by foreign transport companies.