spot_img
29 C
Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Estrada: No trike phaseout

- Advertisement -

MANILA Mayor Joseph Estrada on Monday said the city government has no plans to immediately phase out fuel-run tricycles, pedicabs and motorized pedicabs in the city as part of the gradual introduction of electric tricycles (E-trikes) beginning next month.

Estrada again made the clarification after a small group of protesters staged a demonstration this morning opposing the E-trike program of the city government.

“Definitely, there is no phase-out. What we just want to do is to replace their conventional tricycles with modern, battery-operated E-trikes, so that they will have more earnings and at the same time help reduce air pollution in our city,” Estrada said.

Estrada appealed to the 20,000 drivers of tricycles, pedicabs, and kuligligs in Manila not to be swayed by the misinformation being waged by some individuals out to discredit the city government’s social development programs.

Dennis Alcoreza, head of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau, also played down the drivers’ apprehensions that the city government will take away their only source of livelihood.

- Advertisement -

“This is just a gradual implementation, no immediate phase-out. This is in fact a livelihood project of Mayor Estrada to provide better source of income for our poor tricycle and pedicab drivers,” Estrada said.

Alcoreza added: “E, ngayon nagbabayad sila ng boundary pero ‘ di napapasakanila ‘yung tricycle. Ito [E-trike] after four years, sa kanila na.”

Alcoreza stressed that this “boundary-hulog” program for the E-trikes is affordable even to the poorest drivers because the costs of the project is subsidized by the city government.

The driver-beneficiaries will only pay P150 to 200 a day for four years to own the battery-powered tricycles, he added.

By November, Alcoreza said the E-trike project will only be pilot-tested in three areas: Binondo, Malate, and University Belt; some 280 E-trikes will be initially distributed to the first batch of driver-beneficiaries.

The Manila Electric Co. is presently constructing charging stations/terminals in the selected areas, which will be used for free by the E-trike drivers.

The Estrada administration is launching its E-trike project in Manila as a means to combat air pollution and improve the livelihood of some 5,000 tricycle drivers in the city and thousands more of “colorum” pedicab drivers who operate without franchises.

The city government has procured an initial fleet of 384 battery-operated vehicles that will be distributed to tricycle drivers through an affordable “boundary-hulog” scheme.

The city government bought the 384 units of E-trikes for more than P145 million or P380,000 each.

An E-trike runs on gel-type batteries than can be fully charged for only 4-5 hours. It can carry up to seven passengers and has a maximum speed of 40-45 kilometer per hour (kph).

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles