A lawmaker has urged the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to investigate the recent burning of a Comet e-jeepney along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.
In House Resolution 2109, Quezon City representative Winston Castelo said there is a need to temporarily suspend the operation of the e-jeep until the cause of burning is determined.
Castelo said the DOTC and LTFRB should determine the real cause why the e-jeepney blew up in flames while traversing Katipunan road on May 12, 2015.
“The riding public has the right to know the reasons behind the burning of the vehicle,” Castelo said.
Castelo said the probe should focus on e-jeepney’s promise of environmental safety to the safety of the passengers and the determination of the real cause of the incident.
The Global Electric Transport (GET), the company that owns the Comet e-jeep fleet now plying Quezon City streets, said the driver and the payment system operator tried to put out the fire with the vehicle’s fire extinguisher but the flames continued to engulf the e-jeepney.
“The statement of an unnamed GET officer that e-jeep caught fire on its own poses alarm and concern,” Castelo said.
Castelo said GET should conduct an inspection of their fleet to determine why one of its units caught fire and exploded. The US-based Pangea Motors, the manufacturer of the e-jeep, should send their engineers to help in the investigation, Castelo said.
The 16-passenger Comet e-jeepney is powered by a 30kW, 150Nm motor that makes use of lithium-iron phosphate batteries. This electric vehicle is said to have the ability to travel up to 100km on a four-hour electric charge with top speed of 60kph.