E-trikes make debut in 2 Negros Occ. cities

BACOLOD CITY—This one is for solar power.

A party-list group gave one e-trike each to the cities of Bacolod and San Carlos in Negros Occidental to encourage the use of a tricycle that runs on solar power and electricity.

Rep. Teodorico Haresco, of Ang Kasangga sa Kaunlaran party-list, turned over one unit of e-trike to Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia on Thursday morning and another unit to San Carlos City in the afternoon.

Haresco said he wanted the local officials to try and test the e-trike before these could be mass produced.

Leonardia said they wanted the local transport industry to take a good look at the e-trike as it would not only protect the environment but could also boost drivers’ earnings.

“We are looking forward to their use,” Leonardia said.

Bacolod Councilor Carl Lopez, a member of the city council’s committee on trade, commerce and industry, said the e-trike given to Bacolod would be assigned to the police for patrol duties in the government center.

“The police would use the e-trike for testing and so the people who visit the government center could see what it was like,” Lopez said.

Haresco is the coinventor of the vehicle, along with Brian Stanley-Jackson, president and chief scientist of Technostrat Corp., the firm that produces the solar-powered tricycles.

He said the e-trikes were driven by an electrically-powered, solar-assisted engine. Solar panels on the roof would charge the batteries and increase operating range, he added.

The battery of the e-trike can run up to eight hours on 10 percent solar power and 90 percent electricity, Haresco said.

A driver can increase his earning from P4,700 a month to P12,500 if he uses an e-trike, instead of using a tricycle that runs on gasoline or diesel, said Haresco.

The cost of electricity to run the e-trike would only reach P50 to P60 per day, a lot cheaper than gasoline which would reach from P250 to P260 daily, he added.

E-trikes are also carbon emissions-free and have zero noise pollution. Haresco admitted that e-trikes are more expensive.

One unit would cost from P135,000 to P140,000. But Haresco said a 4-year government financing scheme would make these e-trikes affordable.