$280m for tricycle phase-out eyed

THE Asian Development Bank is offering the Philippine government as much as $280 million in loans to finance a proposed refleeting program for tricycle drivers and operators to shift to electric motorbikes or e-bikes.

“The loan will be coursed through ADB conduit banks like Land Bank for relending to tricycle drivers who may want to shift into using e-bikes,” Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje told reporters in a briefing Tuesday.

He said the ADB will be giving as donation 30 e-bikes for distribution to the local governments of Metro Manila.

“ADB wants us to sample the bikes to see for ourselves that these machines are totally pollution-free. No emissions, less pollution,” he said.

The DENR claimed that replacing all tricycles with e-bikes will free the country of as much as 20 million metric tons of carbon footprint in a year’s time.

“We could go into carbon trading. That will earn for us the dollar equivalent which we can use to offset a portion of the loan,” Paje said.

An initial study showed that tricycle drivers can save up to P300 daily if they use e-bikes.

“Four hours of charging would only cost P40 compared to P340 in fossil fuel. The acquisition cost is about 20 to 30 percent higher than fuel-fired motorcycles but the overhead cost is certainly lower,” he said.

There are about five million tricycles all over the country, of which 2.8 million run in Metro Manila.

The DENR said the proposed shift to e-bikes will help the country attain a 25 to 30 percent reduction in pollution in all urban centers by 2011.

As of 2009, the country’s total suspended particulates – a concentration of micro pollutants in the air – in all cities and urban centers was 134 micrograms per normal cubic meters, which is 49 percent beyond the normal standard of 90.

The major sources of these particulates are diesel vehicles and coal-burning power plants. Dust from unpaved roads and construction activities contributes to the rise in particulates especially during dry months.

Vehicles contribute as much as 80 percent of pollution load, while the remaining 20 percent come from industries.

DENR monitoring also shows that more than 50 percent of vehicles are registered without prior actual testing by accredited Private Emission Testing Centers.

“If all vehicles are tested for emission prior to registration, the 30 percent reduction in particulates will be easily realized,” said Paje. –Othel V. Villanueva, Manila Standard Today