I didn't missed the point... it was your post here that suggested the bio-diesel option using used cooking oils... which I simply pointed out that it is really not viable (YET) even with a cheaper lard or tallow option...
OT, but related to used cooking oil. Some restaurants and fast food outlets sell their used cooking oil to people who would resell them to ambulant street food vendors. Rather than discard it for recycling purposes, restaurants can still make money out their used cooking oil. I wonder how some of the street food vendors disposed of their over-used cooking oil?
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Today’s Headlines
BY JESSICA ANNE D. HERMOSA, Reporter E-jeepneys finally on public roads
TEN ELECTRIC JEEPNEYS finally began plying public roads in Makati for the first time yesterday, backed by a business model proponents hope will be replicated in other cities.
E-JEEPNEYS have found their way to Makati’s public roads. -- AFP
The project, led by Filipino non-profit Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), will be propped up by sales of advertising space on the vehicles and will eventually use biomass power sourced from city waste, officials said.
Start-up funds for the vehicles, a charging station and a biomass facility came from the Doen Foundation, the fund for Dutch charity lotteries. The 300,000-euro grant will also pay for the set-up of a similar project in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Operational expenses will be covered not by passenger fares but by advertising sales.
"The fare is free because of the business model where we will rely on revenue from advertisements [placed on the vehicles]," ICSC Director Red Constantino said at the launch.
Energy supply, meanwhile, will eventually be sourced from a power plant that runs on biogas produced from organic city waste.
"The biodigester, the whole thing, was submerged by [tropical storm] Ondoy. We wanted to announce it by November or December this year. It will be postponed, but hopefully just for a year," Mr. Constantino told Business-World.
The fleet will run on two routes generally not covered by existing public transportation, and is eyed to replace gas-guzzling jeepneys in the future.
"It took three years for this project to reach this stage. The main issue was Land Transportation Office registration. After one year of followups, the e-jeepney is classified as a low-speed vehicle suitable for public roads," Makati city administrator Marjorie A. de Veyra said.
Back in 2007, two electric utility vehicles imported from China were piloted in Makati but were limited to private roads as they did not meet government standards. The fleet launched yesterday, however, is made here by the Philippine Utility Vehicle, Inc. in line with state specifications.
The new routes -- one in Salcedo Village, the other in Legaspi Village -- traverse portions of widely used Paseo de Roxas, Makati Ave., H.V. Dela Costa St. and Dela Rosa St., among others.
"In the near future, [we want it to start replacing gas-powered public transportation]. In the next ten years, all will be electric jeepneys," Ms. de Veyra told reporters.
Mr. Constantino said the project’s expansion was being done "carefully, deliberately" as they do not want to displace jeepney drivers.
"We’d like other cities to enjoy that independence from oil. We are talking with different local government units now," he added.
Sought for comment, officials of other Metro Manila city governments said they had no firm plans of using e-jeepneys yet.
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr., in a text message, said there are "no current plans", although the vehicles might be useful in the central business district in the future.
Taguig City Vice-Mayor George A. Elias, in a separate text message, said they would rather focus on current projects involving battery-powered tricycles and buses that rely on compressed natural gas.
The Makati electric jeepneys will run on weekdays, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Each vehicle, after charging for eight hours, can run up to 50 kph for 12 hours.
OT, but related to used cooking oil. Some restaurants and fast food outlets sell their used cooking oil to people who would resell them to ambulant street food vendors. Rather than discard it for recycling purposes, restaurants can still make money out their used cooking oil. I wonder how some of the street food vendors disposed of their over-used cooking oil?
The wholesale buyers of used oil are the tsitseria makers to give taste to such tihings as shing-a-ling and other kropeck like crackers.
Some use the over used cooking oil as oil for lamps.
Overused cooking oil can actually be cleaned again by frying potatoes in it. The potatoes or french fries remove the discoloring and taste. Not sure though if this also is the same when they cook the kropeck-like tsitsiria.
Used to have contact with one of this tsitsiria makers who are constantly looking for used cooking oil supply. Demand is beyond what can be met by even the fast foods combined.
Re: e-Jeepney Monitor Thread
Linear Mode
