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Taguig trikes overtake Makati jeeps in green race
By Ferdinand Fabella (April 13, 2009)
MAKATI City may have been the first to introduce the electric jeepneys—there are now two units plying the premiere city’s streets for public use—but neighboring Taguig City has overtaken its richer neighbor in the race for eco-friendly transportation.
Taguig has acquired 178 units of battery-operated fiberglass tricycles, including 20 in The Fort, with each capable of transporting four to eight passengers per load.
Introduced by Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga last December, the fiberglass-bodied E-3s resemble huge golf carts powered by five 12V batteries, which need six to 10 hours of charging for a range of 100 to 120 kilometers at speeds of 30 to 45 kilometers per hour.
The E-3s are locally made unlike the E-Jeepneys, which are imported from China.
The E-3s can climb roads slanting up to 25 degrees even when full, according to its maker, E-SaVe Transport Systems, Inc.
“These are more efficient, easy to use, more stable and safer for road travel. They are even flood-proof,” E-SaVe president Sean Gerard Villoria said, referring to E-3’s reverse/forward switch that allows it to negotiate floodwaters.
With a price tag of only P140,000, an E-3 is much cheaper than a brand-new gasoline-fed motorcycle—excluding the passenger cab that is bought separately. An ordinary motorcycle cost about P70,000 while a fiberglass body was about P50,000, Villoria said.
A tricycle owner spends about P6,000 a month or P73,000 a year on fuel and P2,370 a month to maintain it, compared with only P40 a day or P1,200 a month on electricity with the E-3.
Villoria says the design and noiseless features of the E-3 make it more suitable in business districts, private subdivisions, resorts and even military camps.
The Air Force has been using E-3s to ferry personnel in its airbases in Villamor, Mactan in Cebu, and Clark in Pampanga. Other local government units such as Makati, Pasay, Bacolod and Boracay have also expressed interest in procuring the battery-powered trikes, according to Villoria.
In Taguig, Tinga says, the E-3s were being offered as a means of livelihood to poor residents. Drivers rent out an E-3 from the city government by paying only P100 a day, although city hall has yet to determine and fix the routes and fares.
Source:
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news3_april13_2009
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