Engineer Rommel Dizon, member of the DOST staff for the ERT project, told Punto! that the ERT has passed the prescribed period for testing and demonstration since it was launched in 2015.
He said two versions of the ERT, namely the “heavy version” for a maximum of 240 passengers in Cebu and the “light version” for 160 passengers in this freeport, were found to have performed effi ciently and safely. The heavy version is 40 meters long.
Dizon explained that the fire in one of the coaches of the ERT in Clark on Jan. 14 last year was found to have been caused by loose terminals in two of the seven batteries.
“Optimizations” have already been done to perfect the ERT, he added. He said the DOST already met recently with bus operators whom it has encouraged to invest in the ERT as alternative public transport. “We are also engaged in talks with the M. Rail firm which has expressed interest in the project,” he said.
The ERT in this freeport has been serving students at the branch of the University of the Philippines here, transporting them from Clark’s main gate in Angeles City to their campus in the morning, and from the campus to the main gate in the afternoon, free of charge as part of the testing requirement for the new vehicle. Dizon said the heavy ERT cost P45 million, including cost of conceptualization phase, while the light version cost P32 million.
He explained, however, that the ERT would need exclusive lanes in Metro Manila, with exclusive designated points where it would board and alight passengers so as to lessen and not worsen the traffic problem in Metro Manila. He noted this is being done in China, France and Australia where similar bus-trains are also being used.
