BCDA sets public transport system demo, study for Clark ecozone

MANILA  -The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of agreement with the Japan-based Zenmov Inc. and the Philippine-based MC Metro Transport Operation Inc. to conduct a demonstration and study of an energy-efficient public transportation system inside the Clark Special Economic Zone.

The BCDA said the project called the Primary Rapid Transit — a “last mile” service — will run for two years on selected routes in New Clark City, Clark Freeport Zone and the Clark Civil Aviation Complex using smart mobility operation cloud (SMOC) technology.

This technology will allow Zenmov to measure and validate the effectiveness of the public transport service system, which aims to maximize its operations while keeping the number of vehicles at a minimum by managing a lean dispatching system based on travel demand data.

“Smart mobility plays an important role in our commitment to transforming our developments into green, sustainable and inclusive cities,” BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang said in a statement.

“Learning from global experts in smart city development, like our partners from Japan, we can integrate smart and innovative technologies in our developments, like those of Zenmov, which in the long run will improve the quality of life of the people residing and working in BCDA developments,” he added.

Earlier in January, the memorandum of understanding for the project was signed between the BCDA and Japan’s national research and development agency, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (Nedo).