Boracay tricycle rides take green, quiet turn

ILOILO CITY—Commuter rides in the resort island of Boracay are taking a quieter, greener turn.

Ten electric-powered tricycles were launched recently in the island in pursuit of a program to eliminate gasoline-powered, smoke-belching tricycles as the main means of transportation there.

The e-trikes, powered by lithium-ion batteries, were expected to start plying their routes last Dec. 24, according to the chair of the council of Malay town, which has jurisdiction over Boracay.

Dante Pagsuguiron, Malay councilor, said the introduction of e-trikes was part of the local government’s program to phase out gasoline-powered tricycles.

At least 507 tricycles are licensed to operate in Boracay and have been blamed for noise and air pollution in the now environmentally critical island.

The e-trikes costs P280,000 each including a charging station and batteries. Operators could purchase them on an installment basis, said Pagsuguiron.

He said while private individuals would own the environment-friendly tricycle, their operations would be supervised by the local government.

E-trike batteries require three hours of charging which is good for 65 kilometers.

Pagsuguiron said fare in e-trikes would be P10, similar to that of gasoline-powered tricycles. The fare, however, could be lowered once guidelines for the operations of e-trikes are finalized.

More e-trikes were expected to be operated next year under a separate project of the Department of Energy and the Asian Development Bank.