April 4, 2020
COVID-19 RESPONSE BIKE DRIVE THROUGH UP BIKE SHARE PROJECT
The UP Bike Share project was launched in August 2016 by Dr. Nestor Michael C. Tiglao of the UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (UPEEEI), under the UP College of Engineering (UPCoE). The project successfully developed the country’s first and only 4th generation smart bike-sharing system, which is now being implemented in the University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD) campus. It also produced intellectual property (IP) applications for a utility model (i.e., smart brake system) and three industrial designs. The Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) granted funding for this research.
The current suspension of public transportation has made it difficult for medical frontliners to get to hospitals to work. In response, the UP Bike Share project, under the COVID-19 response bike drive initiative, offered their existing fleet of bicycles to several medical institutions to be used by relevant personnel as a temporary mode of transportation.
Under this agreement, the project lent out 92 bicycles to several hospitals in Metro Manila, including the Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Orthopedic Center, and St. Luke’s Medical Center, Global City. The following images show the distribution and delivery of bicycles to respective hospitals.
The success of the COVID-19 response bike drive was made possible by the collaborative efforts of different groups and individuals:
- Members and volunteers (student members and alumni) of the UP Bike Share organization, together with their project leader, Dr. Nestor Michael C. Tiglao (UPEEEI);
- UPCoE Dean Ferdinand G. Manegdeg and UP Chancellor Fidel R. Nemenzo, who both supported the mobilization of the bikes and provided the necessary endorsement letters to allow the team’s passage through different checkpoints;
- Sec. Fortunato Dela Peña (DOST), USec. Rowena Guevarra (DOST), and Dir. Eric Paringit (PCIEERD-DOST) who endorsed and approved the deployment of the bike assets.
For more information about this project, please send an email to Dr. Nestor Michael C. Tiglao (nestor@eee.upd.edu.ph), Project lead.
Furthermore, for inquiries on other engineering solution projects, kindly send an email to Dr. Eden May B. dela Peña (ebdelapena@up.edu.ph), Associate Dean for Public Service College of Engineering UP Diliman.