To facilitate the launch of electric tricycles (E-trikes) next month, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has started putting up charging stations around the city for E-trike drivers.
The city government has partnered with the Manila Electric Co. in the installation of the charging stations-cum-terminals, most of which are set in Manila’s tourist belt area.
“The E-trike drivers can charge their batteries for free,” Estrada said.
The mayor earlier announced the formal launch of his landmark E-trike project next month with an initial fleet of 384 battery-operated vehicles to be rolled out and distributed to tricycle drivers through an affordable five-year “boundary-installment” scheme.
The city government procured the 384 units of E-trikes for more than P145 million or P380,000 each.
Estrada said he intended the E-trike project to be a more practical livelihood program for 5,000 Manila tricycle drivers, whose daily earnings are largely depleted by the rising price of diesel fuel, and to support government initiatives to curb dependence on oil and cut air pollution.
“E-trikes are easier and cheaper to maintain compared to tricycles that run on fuel. With less expense on vehicle maintenance and practically zero expense on fuel, our trike drivers can expect bigger income,” the mayor pointed out.
An E-trike is powered by gel-type batteries that can be fully charged for only four to five hours. It can carry up to seven passengers and has a maximum speed of 40-45 kilometer per hour.
Estrada stressed the E-trike project was a part of his administration’s multi-pronged effort to combat pollution and protect the health of more than one million Manileños.
Initially, the E-trikes will be dispatched in the city’s tourist belt area—Luneta, Ermita, Malate, Intramuros, Binondo (Chinatown) and Quiapo.