The Electric Jeepney (eJeep Ikot La Salle): A Facility-Partner in Community Service in De La Salle University-Dasmarinas

By:

DR. CARMELYN CORTEZ-ANTIGPOLCA (Parents’ Organization of Lasalle Cavite, Inc.)De La Salle University-Dasmarinas, Dasmarinas, Cavite, PIEmail: ccantig@dlsud.edu.ph

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

• To explore the extent of community service involvement of the Electric Jeepney (eJeepIkot Lasalle) operations in De La Salle University-Dasmarinas in terms of evaluating the serviceability of the vehicles.

ServiceabilityFrom the viewpoint of the operator, in terms of number of trips per day and the average number of passengers in the community served.

Likewise, providing a regular source of income for jobless individuals; and

The significant contribution it has made to the university’s scholarship fund, even to the extent of “sacrificed earnings” on the part of the operator.

DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-DASMARINAS Cavite’s premier university 27-ha. Campus that houses the seven (7) undergraduae colleges Student population of 12,000 PAASCU Accredited Level 4 Status

POLCA (Parents’ Organization of La Salle Cavite, Inc.)

Established in 1989 and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non profit external organization.

Legitimate parent organization of De La Salle University-Dasmarinas

Active university partner in its meaningful endeavors; and The registered owner/operator of the first Electric Jeepney in

Cavite and Calabarzon, and even among all the seventeen (17) Lasalle schools in the Philippines.

The Electric Jeepney(ejeep 1)

Acquired in February 2009 at an acquisition cost of P595,000.00

10 – seater electric jeepney (eJeep 1) run by electricity

Electrically-charged battery for eight (8) hours to run for six (6) to

seven (7) hours travel on a regular flat surface/road.

The Electric Jeepney(eJeep 2)

Acquired in February 2011 at an acquisition cost of

P675,000.0013-seater electric jeepney (eJeep 2) run by

electricityElectrically-charged battery for eight (8)

hours to run for six (6) to seven (7) hours travel on a

regular flat surface/road.

Table 1.0

Average Number of Pasengers/Trips DailyFrom February 11, 2009 - May 2010 - eJeep 1

Month Actual # Ave. # of Ave. # of

of Days Passengers/day Trips/day

Feb. 11, 2009 12 405 40

Mar-09 13 389 39

Apr-09 - - -

May-09 1 40 4

Jun-09 9 357 36

Jul-09 18 340 34

Aug-09 17 357 36

Sep-09 19 380 38

Oct-09 1 246 25

Nov-09 5 113 11

Dec-09 11 281 28

Jan-10 17 305 31

Feb-10 14 314 31

Mar-10 18 335 34

Apr-10 15 248 25

May-10 19 230 23

Table 2.0

Average Number of Passengers/Trips DailyFrom June 2010 to May 2011 - eJeep 1

Month Actual # Ave. # of Ave. # of

of Days Passengers/day Trips/day

Jun-10 16 189 18

Jul-10 14 235 24

Aug-10 16 243 24

Sep-10 - - -

Oct-10 - - -

Nov-10 17 356 36

Dec-10 10 362 36

Jan-11 19 332 33

Feb-11 17 292 29

Mar-11 17 254 25

Apr-11 4 174 17

May-11 20 200 20

Table 3.0

Average Number of Passengers/Trips Daily

From June 2011 to September 2011 - eJeep 1

Month Actual # Ave. # of Ave. # of

of Days Passengers/day Trips/day

Jun-11 17 256 26

Jul-11 13 251 25

Aug-11 19 228 23

Sep-11 18 193 19

Table 4.0

Average Number of Passengers/Trips Daily

From February 2011 to May 2011 - eJeep 2

Month Actual # Ave. # of Ave. # of

of Days Passengers/day Trips/day

Feb-11 11 175 13

Mar-11 15 316 24

Apr-11 4 159 12

May-11 17 215 17

Table 5.0

Average Number of Passengers/Trips DailyFrom June 2011 to September 2011 - eJeep 2

Month Actual # Ave. # of Ave. # of

of Days Passengers/day Trips/day

Jun-11 10 248 19

Jul-11 18 275 21

Aug-11 14 354 27

Sep-11 19 308 24

Tables 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 for the periods covered reveal an average of twenty-five (25) trips for eJeep 1

eJeep 1’s travel time was at an average of six (6) hours from the time it started its operations in February 11, 2009 until February 11, 2011 when eJeep 2 was acquired which travel time was cut to four (4) hours each per day.

eJeep 1, upon the acquisition of eJeep 2, was sharing its services with the latter at four (4) hours each, travel time, meaning when the battery was fully used up for eJeep 1, eJeep 2 takes over.

Tables 4.0 and 5.0 for the periods covered reveal an average of twenty (20) trips for eJeep 2

Both eJeeps are servicing the community for the whole day sharing the number of travel time for the morning and afternoon schedules.

Table 6.0

Recovery vs. Acquisition Cost

eJeep 1 Acquisition Cost February 11, 2009 P595,000.00

Period Covered Net Income Share One Lasalle (Net Loss) Scholarship Fund February 11-May 31, 2009 (P178.00) P9,958.00 June 1- May 31, 2010 35,681.00 50,489.00 June 1 - May 31, 2011 (2,708.00) 40,090.00 June 1 - September 30, 2011 (21,678.00) 14,133.00 Total P11,117.00 P114,670.00

The net income of P11,117.00 for the period of two (2) years and seven (7) months added to the amount of P114,670.00 which is donated as share to One La Salle Scholarship Fund shall give a total of P125,787.00 which represents only 21% recovered cost from the original acquisition cost of P595,000.00 So, with the figure, it will take a longer period to recover the cost of the vehicle even beyond the estimated life of five (5) years. But for as long as the eJeep runs, there is a sure share to be given to the One La Salle Scholarship Fund.

Table 7.0Recovery vs. Acquisition Cost

eJeep 2 Acquisition Cost February 17, 2011 P675,000.00

Period Covered Net Income Share One Lasalle

(Net Loss) Scholarship Fund February 17 - May 31, 2011 (P9,533.00) P10,174.00 June 1 - September 30, 2011 5,792.00 18,249.00 Total (P3,741.00) P28,423.00

The above table shows a Net Loss of P3,741.00 for the little over seven (7) months of operations of the eJeep 2. Taking this amount from the P28,423.00 share of One La Salle Scholarship Fund, a meager 0.4% represents the recovered cost. Again, with this, it will take a much longer time to recover the acquisition cost of the vehicle. However, the assurance that the One La Salle Scholarship Fund is regularly given as share second in priority after salaries to drivers are paid is a commitment to community service. The operators just simply absorb the losses tagged as “sacrificedearnings”.

CONCLUSION

The Electric Jeepney (eJeep 1 and eJeep 2) = Facility–Partner of De La Salle University-Dasmarinas in community service taking into consideration the following points:

The number of trips that the two (2) electric jeepneys run daily to service the community speaks well of the involvement in helping the university carry out its mission.

It is also worth mentioning that whenever the university entertains guests from the different government agencies and other schools, the electric jeepneys are requested to service their needs for travel in the 27-ha. campus. For these instances, no regular collection of fare is made but just the requirement of paying the driver in cash for his services. No amount goes to the operator.

However, during school days, if the use is only for a short time, a way of assisting the requesting group is just to do a headcount of passengers and the equivalent amount of fare be collected. In this case, the driver earns the same share of P1.00 per passenger.

In the presentation of the results of operations of the two (2) electric jeepneys (eJeep 1 and eJeep 2), the first priority is the Salaries paid to the driver, followed by the share to One La Salle Scholarship Fund. With this, the operator for three (3) periods, suffered a loss for eJeep 1 for the two (2) years and seven (7) months of operations, and two (2) times net losses for eJeep 2 for the little over seven (7) months of operations.

Operating with no consideration of profit is more than just a commitment on the part of the operator.

Providing a sure source of funds for scholarship and providing employment for a DLSU-D retired employee and a jobless contractual worker are expressions of active partnering with the university in community service thru the operations of the Electric Jeepney

This is also to highlight the support of the operators in the Project Carbon Neutral of the university and to continue setting the trend.

With this in mind, one can say that indeed the Electric Jeepney (eJeep 1 and eJeep 2), one of a kind, and the only in Cavite, particularly Cavite’s premiere university is a facility-partner in community service in De La Salle University Dasmarinas.

RECOMMENDATIONThe operator, POLCA, having set the trend, and not

minding whether it earns or not, since the operations of the electric jeepney is not for profit/business but for service, for as long as there is a regular source of funds for the Scholarship Fund of the university, should continue to do its share of community service particularly providing additional units for a wider reach of members of the community being served.