CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — Asia’s first “green” and innovative vehicles will soon be at the New Clark City come October which will be used by the South East Asian (SEA) Games athletes.
This developed as the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Connected Autonomous Shared Transportation (COAST) Autonomous Shared Transportion on Monday officially signed a memorandum of agreement for the deployment of three autonomous fully electric and “green” vehicles in New Clark City to be utilized by the South East Asian (SEA) Games.
BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon said the vehicles are fully electric and have zero carbon footprint, which is the 1st in Asia.
Committed to developing a green and modern metropolis, Dizon and Coast Autonomous Chair and CEO David Hickey, led the signing ceremony for the pilot testing of the three low speed autonomous or “self-driving” vehicles.
During a press conference, Dizon said COAST Autonomous will provide three electric Coast P-1 Shuttles at no cost to government.
He said the vehicles will run at a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour and will arrive in the country for the pilot testing ahead of the SEA Games.
“BCDA and COAST share the same vision for the future: cities must be liveable by removing traffic and connecting people with clean mobility options that put pedestrians first,” Hickey said.
Under the agreement, Coast Autonomous will provide and use high-definition and 3D mapping machines to determine the route of each vehicle for it to operate on its own, and transport passengers to and from the Athlete’s Village, the Atheletic Stadium and the Aquatics Center.
“COAST Autonomous has developed its vehicles to adapt to the appropriate speed for the environment, “ COAST ‘s Chief Technology Officer Pierre Lefevre said.
“The vehicles are not dependent on GPS (global positioninh system) and thus can operate in urban canyons created by tall buildings, under tree canopies and even underground or in tunnels. COAST’s Technology is highly flexible and makes cities and campuses more walkable. The future mobility should be connected, autonomous, shared and electric,” he added.
Clark will serve as the main hub during this year’s SEA Games with the construction of world-class sports complex in the New Clark City.
There are 56 sports to be played by nearly 10,000 athletes from 11 countries at the biennial event. The 11 countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.