Joel to reintroduce e-bus purchase

CEBU, Philippines —  Dismayed over the lack of progress on the proposal to procure electric buses (e-buses) in Cebu City, Councilor Joel Garganera is eyeing to reintroduce the project ahead of the new administration.

It can be recalled that Garganera, chairperson of the Committee on Environment, had lobbied for the procurement of e-buses for Cebu City. However, he said, over the time, the supplier decided to forego the offer.

Now that the transition to the new administration is approaching, Garganera plans to lobby for the proposal once again.

He said e-buses would be beneficial to the City’s activities such as the Gabii sa Kabilin as this would serve as a good alternative transportation method.

“With the new mayor, who is also environment-friendly, and who is also promoting clean energy, I might lobby for electric buses labi na ang kaning mga Gabie sa Kabilin,” said Garganera.

Garganera said that t)electric buses are convenient for tourists to use while touring heritage sites.

He added that it would be a compelling undertaking to include e-buses as part of the “hop-on, hop-off” scheme for tourists.

Garganera said he is confident that new city mayor-elect, Councilor Nestor Archival Sr., would adopt the proposal, adding that the latter is also an environmental advocate.

Garganera, however, admitted that he is unsure whether the arrangement with the previous contractor would still be implemented. He said there was supposed to be a tripartite agreement for the proposed purchase of e-buses.

“But then it took them a while, for almost a year sad ba, so, hasta ako nadismaya sad ko ba,” said Garganera.

“I will not stop promoting this because it took a while from their end (executive), wala na musugot and other part of that tripartite agreement,” Garganera added.

In his previous proposal, Garganera lobbied for the procurement of 100 e-buses with a budgetary requirement of at least P150 million.

He said that the amount would serve as the City’s contribution. The total operating cost could reach up to P460 million, with some portions of it being pledged by a third-party supplier.

Garganera said that the third-party supplier has committed to provide charging ports and would waive fees for the first two years.

Garganera said that he also had initial conversations with mall owners, who pledged to provide charging ports and parking spaces for the e-buses.

“Gwapo na unta to. We could have used those two years nga libre ta. We could have used solar pannels,” said Garganera. (CEBU NEWS)