Eco-friendly tricycles to be introduced in Makati City

The Makati City government plans to replace 5,000 old tricycle units with eco-friendly ones in partnership with a Japanese firm, which establishes platform for widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the country. 
 
On Monday, the city government along with the Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA) of Makati City signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Global Mobility Service (GMS), a Japanese company working on control systems for electric vehicles for the introduction of eco-tricycles in the city. 
 
The MOU covers the introduction of eco-tricycles — 4-stroke and electric tricycles — which are environment friendly. 
 
Under the memorandum, the city government of Makati will acquire environment-friendly vehicles for use in the city to achieve the standard of “the Clean Air Act.” 
 
But the government expressed concern over the difficulty of acquiring financing support for the tricycle drivers in the city. This is where the GMS will come in to help drivers to get these eco-friendly vehicles without any downpayment. 
 
In return, the city government will allow the Japanese company to screen documents, issue driving authorization and identify drivers for the project. 
 
When these tricycles are already available, the units will be equipped with a mobility cloud-connecting system (MCCS), which can activate and control the electric tricycle units remotely. 
 
The MCCS has been designed to work with any electric tricycle, regardless of the manufacturer. “The MCCS is a platform that makes it possible to perform various functions such as monitoring the electric tricycles. It also increases the safety that the tricycle is secure, reducing the likelihood of a thief stealing the vehicle,” said GMS vice president Kazumasa Nakashima. 
 
He added that with this system, their company “can collect information and data such as location of the vehicle, use condition, driving behavior of the driver, and transportation probe,” which would be useful for the city to monitor and solve traffic problems. 
 
Acting Makati City Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña said that they have talked with members of the TODA in Makati and asked them to support this program. 
 
“For P160 a day, these drivers will be able to own an e-trike in three years,” the acting mayor said, noting that downpayment for the vehicles since would be waived. 
 
He added that more than 20 tricycle drivers have expressed their intention to own eco-friendly tricycles. 
 
“With the technology attached to these public utility vehicles, we will also avoid having colorums and out-of-line tricycles,” Pena noted. 
 
The MCCS is also expected to monitor and make sure that tricycle drivers maintain the 40km/hr speed limit. 
 
“We are continuously reaching out to TODA members for them to be able to understand the benefits of e-tricycles and in return support the program,” he added.