As the Philippines is moving towards green energy and implementing policies to make energy transition easier and fast, the jeepney drivers has started a 12-day strike on Monday to protest the phaseout of the popular public transportation to pave way for the carbon-free mini -buses.
As pe reports, the protest is against a Dec. 31 government deadline for jeepney operators to surrender their franchises and consolidate into cooperatives in line with a program to replace the polluting vehicles with mini buses having motors mostly powered by electricity. Public transport operators are also asking for more financial support to make the shift.
It is reported that about 70% of operators have already committed to participate in the program. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said last week that they can continue providing services until end 2024. Those who won’t meet the yearend deadline would immediately lose their permits to operate.
The six-year-old program supports the country’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by the end of the decade from 2020 levels. The government wants to balance the initiative by shielding those affected by the shift to EV and prevent them from losing their livelihood, as per the reports.
It is believed that the impact of the transition to EV is going to be worse than the effect of the pandemic that idled much of public transport. It may be noted that the jeepneys are the cheapest mode of transport for many of the nation’s 110 million people.
The protest will be a challenge for the government as it is one of the longest transport protests in the country. Earlier this year, official data showed that only 4% of the roughly 160,000 jeepneys have been replaced by EVs.
