Electric buses to ply in major routes in Cebu

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – The Aboitiz Group in partnership with GET Philippines launched the GET Cebu, a fleet of low-emission, air-conditioned and pollution-free COMET Buses developed by electric vehicle manufacturer GET Philippines and introduced the fully-electric COMET buses at Aboitiz InfraCapital’s (AIC) Mactan Economic Zone 2 Estate.

GET Cebu’s COMET Buses will serve four routes, namely; the Cebu North Route from SM City Consolacion- Cebu IT Park; Cebu South Route from Minglanilla- Cebu IT Park; Cebu Mactan Route from Gaisano Grand Mall- Cebu IT Park, with a pick-up and drop-off point at The Outlets at Pubelo Verde in MEZ2 Estate and Cebu City Route from Shopwise Mambaling-Cebu- IT Park.

AIC-Economic Estates Head Rafael Fernandez de Mesa said, the push for a sustainable and eco-friendly transportation network like GET Cebu is key to future-proof the estate and laying the foundation for next-generation smart cities.

“We want to create resilient spaces where we can also ensure the overall health and wellness of our community and the environment. Strategic land use, a good, flexible development plan, and a transport network that addresses traffic and congestion with minimal environmental impact essentially prepare us for the future needs of the communities we serve,” Fernandez de Mesa said during the launching event in April this year at The Outlets at Pueblo Verde in Mactan.

GET Philippines President Freddie Tinga said, the development of the COMET Buses will address the need for safe and sustainable transport with a positive impact to the environment.

“We’re seeing two things that are happening in the world today that could be ideal if we could bring them to the Philippines. One is the rise of the electric vehicle to replace internal combustion engines, and the other is the app as a transport solution,” Tinga bared

Philinsure and Cebu Leads Foundation President Gordon Alan Joseph on the other hand said that the vision for GET Cebu is anchored on sustainability as the new normal.  “If there’s anything that the pandemic taught us, plus the [natural] disasters we’ve had before…We cannot keep doing what we are doing to the environment. We cannot let our commuters sit in diesel smoke from poorly-designed and poor-quality vehicles,” Joseph said.

Officials and guests from the Aboitiz Group Anton Perdices, Jokin Aboitiz, Anthony Noel, with VECO President and COO Engr. Raul Lucero and Engr. Raymund Villar from the Mactan EnerZone joined the drive test of the buses around the routes. (Photos: Aboitiz Group/AIC FB)