UK turns over electric tricycle to Surigao City

Representatives of the United Kingdom (UK) turned over an electric tricycle to Surigao City in Mindanao in a bid to promote environment-friendly yet practical forms of public transport. UK Embassy Climate Change Attaché Angela Ibay handed over keys to the E-trike to Surigao City Mayor Alfonso Casurra during simple turnover ceremonies this week. Each E-Trike can accommodate about eight people, more than the usual capacity of two-stroke tricycles used in the city. Switching to the E-Trike will not only reduce carbon emissions but will also contribute to traffic decongestion, the UK embassy said. Currently, more than 3,000 two-stroke tricycles are operating in Surigao City. The turnover was part of a project by the Islas Ecology Development Advocacy (ISDA) Foundation to push for an alternative mode of public transport that is environment-friendly and economically viable. Research by ISDA Foundation showed a setup involving a solar-powered charging station to serve public electric tricycles would be affordable. The study also encouraged private sector participation in finding practical solutions for climate change mitigation. In the Philippines, the transport sector is the biggest source of greenhouse gases comprising about 38 percent of emissions, the UK Embassy said. In Surigao City, the number of two-stroke tricycles is increasing and may add to traffic congestion and noise and air pollution. On the other hand, the project also seeks to provide tricycle drivers and operators access to credit, which the foundation has done through an arrangement with a rural bank for affordable micro-financing. ISDA Foundation said the Surigao City Government has already discontinued the renewal of tricycle franchises except for electric tricycles. It said it hopes this will pave the way for tricycle drivers and operators to make the switch to the E-trike. The British Embassy earlier donated an E-Trike and a solar charging station to the ISDA Foundation which will be used to demonstrate to local governments and tricycle drivers and operators that going green is not only better for the environment but also economically viable. “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 through their Green Routes. 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," Ibay said in an article on the UK Embassy website. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV