For decades, tricycles (motorbikes with attached cabs) have been used to transport people and different kinds of small cargos in many areas in the Philippines. The tricycle has become a dominant but often dangerous driving force in big cities and small municipalities.

It’s hard to miss a passing tricycle. Its predatory moves, noisy engine, engulfing smoke and sometimes unreasonable fares make it a brassy vehicle on the road.

While some think that it’s a three-wheeled nuisance, there are commuters who greatly depend on them to get to and from work or school. Tricycles have quickly mushroomed over the years. There are some places in the country were tricycles clog busy highways.

According to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) there are 64,400 tricycles in Metro Manila and 503,600 tricycles in the province which totals 568,000 tricycles in the country.

Re-transforming the tricycle

According to E-Save Transport Systems, Inc., a company that produces electric vehicles, e-tricycles have emerged as an environmentally friendly alternative to fuel-powered vehicles.  E-tricycles are powered by an electric motor unlike regular ones that have gasoline engines.

E-Save Transport Systems, Inc. enumerates three advantages of E-tricycles, namely:

• Eco-Friendly – E-tricycles are not harmful to the environment because it does not have emissions.  This means that e-tricycles do not pollute the air.  It also has a silent engine which distinguishes it from its regular counterparts that contributes to noise pollution.

• Viable – The eco-friendly e-tricycles are bigger and wider which allows more passengers. This is a good way to maximize each trip. It’s also an advantage for owners because of the added income per trip. Based on E-Save Transport Systems, Inc., their e-tricycles’ recharging costs is only 33% that of regular tricycle refueling.

• Sustainable – E-tricycle are easy to maintain and it only needs a quick battery service to run smoothly again.

Pushing the use of e-tricycle

Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) first introduced the e-tricycle in its campus in December 2009.  The university favored the e-tricycle over combustion engine ones. The school found it as an ideal choice of public transport because it generates almost no noise when it runs. ADMU’s preference for e-tricycles also takes into consideration the low cost of operations and maintenance. It only shows that ADMU has the best interest of tricycle drivers and operators in its vicinity. The university believes that the introduction of e-tricycles in the campus is another step towards a more ecologically sustainable Loyola Schools campus.

In May 2010, the British embassy turned over an electric tricycle (Etrike) to the city government of Surigao City as part of a project by the Islas Ecology Development Advocacy (ISDA) Foundation.  The goal of the project is to push the use of alternative mode of public transport which is beneficial for the environment and the economy.

An estimated 3,000 two-stroke tricycles are now operating in Surigao City.  As the number of two-stroke tricycles continues to rise, the traffic congestion, noise pollution and air pollution also increase. Etrikes can accommodate around eight passengers, double the normal capacity of two-stroke tricycles.  The local government of Surigao City hopes that by switching to Etrike, carbon emissions will be reduced and the city’s traffic problem will be controlled.

British Embassy representative and Climate Change Attaché Angela Ibay said, “In Europe there is much talk of electric vehicles. Here in the Philippines, that vision is turned into reality. E-jeepneys are now plying the streets of Makati. Now we see the introduction of another alternative mode of environmentally friendly and sustainable transport, the Etrike, with its Philippine design, adapted to Philippine conditions, and using renewable energy as a source of electric power.”

In April 2011, President Benigno S. Aquino III rode an electric tricycle to formally launch the e-tricycle project. A total of 20 Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded e-tricycles were turned over to the Mandaluyong City government. The project was an important step for the country towards attaining a sustainable, energy-efficient transport model.

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President Aquino said during the launch that the use of electric tricycles is a good long-term solution to the high oil prices that the country continues to face.  The use of e-tricycles will also help curb our dependency on imported oil. The president also stressed that it will substantially reduce carbon dioxide emission.

"At present, we have roughly 3.5 million motorcycles and tricycles that emit close to 10 million tons of harmful gases and use more than 2 billion dollars worth of imported oil each year. By shifting from tricycles that run on expensive fuels to electric ones, we expect to reduce the overall pollution level and increase the income of tricycle drivers significantly at the same time. Each of them can now save approximately 200 pesos since the cost of electricity used by the e-tricycles is cheaper compared to the usual cost of fuel," the President stated.

Mayor Benjamin Abalos worked with the Philippine Energy Efficiency Project of the Department of Energy in order to make Mandaluyong the first city to use e-tricycles. "This is a win-win situation for the community and for the tricycle drivers," Mayor Abalos said. "The e-trike emits no carbon dioxide to the environment, and at the same time tricycle drivers earn double than the usual," he added.

Compared to an ordinary tricycle, the e-tricycle can accommodate six to eight passengers and uses lithium ion batteries (similar to the batteries used in laptop computers and mobile phones). The batteries of the e-tricycle can be recharged approximately 2,000 times.  On a single charge, the e-tricycle is expected to be able to run for about 100 km. The carbon footprint of electric tricycle is reported to be “one quarter of petroleum-fueled tricycles' carbon dioxide emissions”.

ADB committed to install four charging stations in Mandaluyong City to facilitate the charging of e-tricycles. According to the report, the station can charge e-tricycle batteries to 50% capacity in just less than 30 minutes. One of the battery charging stations is said to utilize solar energy.

According to Kunio Senga, director-general of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, "The Philippines is assuming a leading role in Asia in supporting green transportation alternatives, and if e-trikes are followed by new fleets of electric buses and jeepneys, the effect could be transformative."

Photo: Screencap from RTVMPNoy, c/o Youtube.

Video: Launching of E-tricycle-cutaways by RTVMPNoy, c/o Youtube.

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Rachel Yapchiongco, also known as Rach to her friends, is a Psychology and Marketing Management graduate of De La Salle University.  She took up several units of MBA at the same university.  Rachel is a full-time mom to a charming young boy and married to an entrepreneur with a passion for cooking. She shares parenting experiences and slices of everyday life on her personal blog called Heart of Rachel.