Belmonte unveils e-trike project

Manila, Philippines — Electronic tricycles or e-trikes would soon cater to the residents and patrons of various establishments along Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

Mayor Joy Belmonte started this week the distribution of 300 e-trikes from the Department of Energy.

Belmonte said the e-trike project aims to transform Quezon City into a green city.

Fifteen qualified tricycle drivers from Barangay Sacred Heart were the first recipients of the e-trikes.

The mayor said several barangays in Tomas Morato have agreed to serve as pilot areas for the project.

“I think that’s the perfect place to pilot this project because a lot of people go there. It is a tourist destination. We want to show to the public that we are beginning to use renewable energy,” Belmonte said.

“There are a lot of residents there and I think they would be happy because these e-trikes do not make so much noise,” she added.

Belmonte hopes that the use of e-trikes will encourage tricycle organizations in the city to use the environment-friendly vehicles.

The mayor said the local government plans to come up with a scheme that would entice tricycle drivers to give up their gasoline-powered units and switch to e-trikes.

Belmonte said they would establish a program that will cover maintenance, fleet management, charging stations and other incentives to make e-trikes more sustainable for drivers.

“We would also give subsidy in case they would have to change the batteries of the e-trikes,” she said.

More e-trikes are expected to be distributed in other barangays in the coming weeks, Belmonte said.