The City of Cabanatuan is dubbed as the “Tricycle Capital of the Philippines”. Tricycle is a three wheeled vehicle used to transport people. Cabanatuan has about 30,000 registered gas-fed four-stroke motorized tricycles. Tricycle operation in this City has become the source of livelihood for around 10,000 families. Its number has tremendously increased despite growing competition and declining net daily income and the adverse effects it brings to the environment. The study analyzed the different aspects in the adoption of E-trikes (electric tricycles) as a mode of public transport system replacing motorized tricycles in the city. The conceptual framework of sustainable development was used to analyze the data. Basic accounting method in determining return on investment and payback period were used to compare the cost and return from among the current mode of transportation as against the adoption of E-trike. Data gathering employed the interviews, survey questionnaires and focus group discussion. The three areas of sustainability measured in the study were economic, socio-political and environmental. The study showed that from among 412 tricycle driver-operators randomly selected, majority were amenable to the shift from engine propelled tricycle to E-trike. However, cost of E-trike deters adoption and full implementation by the City Government. Political issue is also the utmost consideration since work displacement is imminent among the stakeholders once adoption of this mode takes place. On the other side, E-trike was found to be sustainable in the long run both on the point of view of operators and the riding public. The paper recommended that policy regulation be laid down, adopted, and implemented by the local government unit in response to the Philippines Cleaner Air Act.
KeywordsMotorized TricycleElectric TricycleEnvironmental HazardAdoption of Available &Better TechnologiesSustainabilityCommercial Viability
Guillen, M.D.V., Ishida, H., Okamoto, N. and Tsutsumi, M. (2007) Public Transport Policies and the Road-based Public Transport Service in Developing Countries: The Case of Indigenous Public Transport Modes in Davao City, Philippines. The 7th International Conference of Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Tsukuba, 2007, 18.
Vergel, K.B. (1992) Exploratory Study on the Adoption of Traffic Impact Fee in the Philippines Francis F. Villareal Master of Science in Civil Engineering (Transportation Engineering). University of the Philippines, Quezon City.
Guillen, M.D.V. and Ishida, H. (2004) Motorcycle-Propelled Public Transport and Local Policy Development: The Case of “Tricycles” and “Habal-habal” in Davao City Philippines. IATSS Research, 28, 56-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0386-1112(14)60092-3
Norcliffe, G. (2011) Neoliberal Mobility and Its Discontents: Working Tricycles in China’s Cities. City Culture and Society, 2, 235-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccs.2011.11.006
Kokaz, K. and Rogers, P. (2002) Urban Transportation Planning for Air Quality Management: Case Study in Delhi, India, Of Role of Social and Economic Costs in Welfare Maximization of Mobility Choice. Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1817, 42-49. https://doi.org/10.3141/1817-06
Taofeek, G.K. and Afolabi, O.J. (2005) An Assessment of Motorcycle Operation in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. https://scholar.google.com.ph/
Manasan, R.G. and Mercado, R.G. (1999) Governance and Urban Development: Case study of Metro Manila. Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Makati.
City Government of Cabanatuan (2012) City Planning and Development Office. City Government of Cabanatuan, Cabanatuan City.
Balaria, F.E. (2012) The Tricycle Industry in Cabanatuan City. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, Cabanatuan City.
Li, F., Hu, D., Zhou, C., Wei, C. and Cheng, Z. (2011) Factor Analysis of Grievous Road Traffic Accidents in China. 11th International Conference of Chinese Transportation Professionals (ICCTP): Towards Sustainable Transportation Systems, Nanjing, 14-17 August 2011, 1966-1977. https://doi.org/10.1061/41186(421)195
Prevention, K.I. (1998) 53-Year-Old Dies in Tricycle Tractor Overturn While Transporting Round Bale. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 44, 26.
Boquet, Y. (2015) Metro Manila’s Challenges: Flooding, Housing and Mobility. In: Singh, R.B., Ed., Urban Development Challenges, Risks and Resilience in Asian Mega Cities, Springer, Berlin, 447-468. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55043-3_23
Amistad, F.T. and Regidor, J.R.F. (2005) Traffic Management in a City with UN World Heritage Site. Journal of East Asia Society Studies. 6, 2291-2306.
Potera, C. (2004) Air Pollution: Asia’s Two-Stroke Engine Dilemma. Environmental Health Perspectives, 112, A613. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.112-a613a
Tri-Tugaswatil, A., Suzuki, S., Kiryu, Y. and Kawada, T. (1995) Automotive Air Pollution in Jakarta with Special Emphasis on Lead, Particulate, and Nitrogen Dioxide. Journal of Human Ecology, 61, 261-275. https://doi.org/10.3861/jshhe.61.261
Brown, B.J., Hanson, M.E., Liverman, D.M. and Merideth, R.W. (1987) Global Sustainability: Toward Definition. Environmental Management, 11, 713-719. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01867238
Browne, M., Allen, J. and Leonardi, J. (2011) Evaluating the Use of an Urban Consolidation Centre and Electric Vehicles in Central London. IATSS Research, 35, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iatssr.2011.06.002
Miles, M.B. and Huberman, A.M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, California.
Easton, D. (1957) An Approach to the Analysis of Political Systems. World Politics, 9, 383-400. https://doi.org/10.2307/2008920
Belen, A. (2010) Thesis Writing Primer. Rex Bookstore, Manila Philippines.
Luansing, R., Pesigan, C. and Rustico, E. (2015) An E-Trike ICE Project-Innovative, Concrete and Ergonomic: Systems Design to Support Sustainable E-Trike Commercialization. Procedia Manufacturing, 3, 2333-2340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.380
Congress of the Philippines (1991) The Local Government Code of 1991 Republic Act 7160. Batasan Complex Commonwealth Avenue. Congress of the Philippines, Quezon City.
Asian Development Bank (2012) Air and Noise Pollution Reduction from Tricycles, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines.
Gabriel, A.G. and Gutierrez, M.P. (2017) Praxis in Local Legislative Governance: Measure of Organizational Effectiveness of the Component Cities in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 5, 12-20.
Turner, M. (1999) Philippines: From Centralism to Localism. In: Turner, M., Ed., Central-Local Relations in Asia-Pacific, Springer, Berlin, 97-122. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27711-7_5
Jr. Brillantes, A.B. (1998) Decentralized Democratic Governance under the Local Government Code. A Governmental Perspective, Manila.
Akintoye, A., Hardcastle, C., Beck, M., Chinyio, E. and Asenova, D. (2003) Achieving Best Value in Private Finance Initiative Project Procurement. Construction Management and Economics, 21, 461-470. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144619032000087285
Okon, I.E. (2015) Assesment of Vehicular Emissions on Air Quality and Proximate Composition of Amaranthus Hybridus and Mangifera Indicain in Zaria Nigeria. Amahdo Bello University, Zaria.
Nacino, J.M.R. (2014) Energy Security and Sustainable Transport: The Future of Jeepneys in the Philippines. The University of Tokyo, Tokyo.
Saénz Esteruelas, J.M. (2016) An Evaluation of the Environmental Impact Reduction in the Urban Delivery Logistics Using Tricycles: A Case Study in Portland, OR, USA. http://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/20108
Ukpata, J.O. and Etika, A.A. (2012) Traffic Congestion in Major Cities of Nigeria. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2, 1433-1438.
Jinks, C.A. (1999) Adult Tricycle for Carrying Passengers. US Patent No. 5863058.