Mandaue taps podcars maker to strengthen ‘green city’ bid
Advancing its goal of becoming one of the bonafide green cities in the Philippines, the Mandaue City government has entered into a partnership with podcars maker, Futran Philippines Inc., to jointly conduct a feasibility study to build an environmentally friendly mass transport system.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Futran Philippines President Jose Christopher "Joey" Fornier II, to introduce a “Green Concept” system that will soon feature the first-ever people mover project in the Philippines.
"Mandaue is one of the cities in the country that is a green city, meaning a city that is sustainable and also very progressive. We are privileged that Mayor Jonas agreed to this green concept of a people mover project as we are looking forward to this proof of concept to be the future of transportation in the country," said Fornier.
The Futran Transport System is a state-of-the-art automated, low-cost mass transportation system for people and goods.
"As Mayor of Mandaue City, I am excited to announce our partnership with Futran Philippines for the feasibility study of the first-ever people mover project in the country," said Mayor Cortes during the ceremonial MOU signing.
The Mayor added that Mandaue being a green city is committed to sustainable and progressive development, "which is why we have agreed to explore this environment-friendly mass transport system project."
"I am looking forward to seeing this proof of concept as the future of transportation in the country, which will also help minimize traffic congestion in busy, progressive streets like those of Mandaue City. I am proud that Mandaue City is at the forefront of introducing green mobility solutions in the Philippines, and I am excited to see the results of the feasibility study," added Cortes.
Not new to the transportation systems, the concept of suspended, elevated transport is well proven to be safe and reliable and has been used in countries like Germany, Japan, and China.
"The first suspended transport system in the world was completed in 1901 in Wuppertal, Germany, and is still running with a daily ridership of 82,000 passengers," explained Fornier adding that their company simply modernized the said system using much improved modern manufacturing, control, and construction techniques and technologies.
The safety and reliability of the Futran Transport System will be managed by Germany’s TUV Rheinland, a world-renowned Technical Service Provider, and Certification Body. Amongst other such systems, TUV Rheinland was and still is involved in the Wuppertal Schwebebahn system.
"Suspended system has not been popular globally due to its relatively high costs and system complexity. And this is where the Futran system comes in with a low-cost yet simple model that is even safer than its predecessors. TUV Rheinland will make sure of it!” noted Vincent Tan, Regional Vice President of Greater China and Asia Pacific for Rail/Future Mobility Solutions.
The feasibility study officially takes effect upon the signing of the MOU and will run for six months but can be extended to another half a year should the need arise.
"Once we are finished with the feasibility study then we will have a gauge already on where the alignments will be, where we will deploy it, what kind of system, where the stations will be," added Fornier.
Following the introduction of its transport system that the commuting public will soon enjoy, the Futran podcar system aims to minimize traffic congestion in busy streets like those of Mandaue City.
The Futran Podcar system is a Suspended Automated Transit Network with vehicle capacities of up to 20 passengers that run on demand as opposed to on schedule.
"The system does not interfere with the existing traffic below and can easily blend into the city," said Fornier.
"Because the track is elevated, people and animal movement on the ground can continue. The new track is supplied in modular components for quick assembly and erecting using basic tools and machinery that is readily available and cost-effective," said Fornier.
Because the system is a 100 percent green concept, it will use solar energy to energize and power the system. Solar panels will be deployed on top of every beam that will serve to power every podcar.
"The tracks are suspended from the beams, the pods do not run on top of them, so the space above the beams is available for solar panels," Fornier further explained.
Futran Philippines is a green mobility company that opened its doors to the country in 2022. Its mother company - Futran Global and Futran Limited are in the business of green mobility, including transport systems, electrical systems, and container haulage systems.