MANILA, Philippines — The first 12 electric jeepneys (e-Jeep) rolled off the charging station at Makati Fire Department on Tuesday morning, and plied routes to Salcedo Village and Legazpi Village from the Landmark Mall.

The 12-seater vehicles will offer free rides to commuters on weekdays during rush hours from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

They look like ordinary jeepneys with their flashy murals. However, they don’t emit smoke. They don’t wait for passengers for long at jeepney stops. Some eJeepneys bore texts "Rebolusyonaryo (Revolutionary)" and "Sakay na (Take a ride)."

“We are making the climate solutions of tomorrow available for Filipinos today,” said Red Constantino, director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC) at the launch of the project dubbed as the eJeepney Makati Green Route.

Through its major funder the Stichting Doen, a Dutch foundation, the iCSC put up the project to help reduce carbon dioxide emission of transport vehicles.

According to the iCSC, the climate change-inducing carbon dioxide emission levels are expected to triple in Asia in the next 20 years. The rise is mainly attributed to the transport sector.

Constantino said his group would like to make eJeeps free for commuters for a long time, by relying on the income they generate from business partners’ advertisements.

The three-year-old project has garnered worldwide praise and recently bagged the top award in the Discovery Channel’s Ecopolis program. It was touted as a new transportation technology that can transform modern cities today.

The Pinoy-style eJeepneys were manufactured by the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the National Center for Transportation Studies at the University of the Philippines, Philbio, the British Embassy, Oxfam Great Britain, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and the Foundation of the Philippine Environment.

Former beauty queen Miriam Quiambao, supporter of the iCSC, drove one eJeepney from the charging station to the Landmark Mall where the eJeepney stop sign was unveiled.

As the eJeepneys took to the road, commuters’ heads turned and eyes watched.

"Soon, eJeepneys will be a common thing on the road. And, it's here to stay," Constantino said.