Hybrid trains to service call center employees

Concept design of the hybrid electric train to be operated in Cebu City in this Oct. 21, 2014 file photo.

A HYBRID electric road train to be rolled out by the Cebu City government and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) may soon service call center employees in the city.

Joel Yu, the pointman of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña for business and economic development, said the road train will service routes in areas with a lot of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.

“The train is expected to arrive in Cebu any day now. We’re seeing this as one of the possible ways to which we can assist the transport needs of call center agents. There will be a study and we’ll test at least two units,” he said during last Friday’s meeting with BPO representatives.

Yu said though that the areas to be serviced by the hybrid trains have yet to be decided.

Transport and traffic were among the priority concerns raised by the BPO sector in previous discussions.

Other concerns include safety and security, housing and a one-stop shop for processing of employees’ requirements.

Once it will be rolled out, the road train will be a free service.
The road train, which took the DOST three years to develop, looks like buses linked to one another. Each coach can accommodate 60 people.
There will be five coaches which can be linked together and also removed depending on the number of people as well as the size of the roads it will have to pass through.

Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) head Rafael Yap said the DOST will field test the road train in Cebu City for one year, although this can be extended.

The road train agreement was signed by the DOST and the city government through former mayor Michael Rama.

Yap said the city government will also hire and train drivers and maintenance personnel for the road train.

Yap said the DOST is still trying to procure a ship provider to deliver the train to Cebu City but it is expected to be done soon.