Electric-powered vehicles eyed in Boracay
BORACAY ISLAND, AKLAN—Smoke-belching and noisy tricycles and other motorized vehicles on this island-island resort will soon be a thing of the past as officials here plan to phase-in electric-powered vehicles next year.
Municipal councilor Wilbec Gelito said in an interview that he will introduce an ordinance that will introduce the use of e-vehicles on the island and at the same time phase-out tricycles and multi-cabs using fuel.
Gelito, vice chair of the committee on transportation of the municipal council of Malay, said there is already a consensus among the members of council to push for the measure.
He said the e-tricycles would be efficient and ecology-friendly because an eight-hour charge could power the vehicles to cover 120 kilometers, enough for several days of trips to cover the 1,006-hectare island.
Estimates showed that public utility vehicle drivers could earn an additional P400 per day by using e-vehicles, said Gelito.
Tricycles are among the main cause of noise and pollution and traffic congestion on the island.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources wants to regulate motor vehicles on the island because it is already causing noise pollution and threatens to contaminate the air on the island.
The number of registered motor vehicles has more than tripled from 553 in 2004 to 1,861 in 2007. Most of these (1,486 or 79.84 percent) are passenger motorcycles using two-stroke engines, according to the DENR draft Boracay environmental master plan.
Two-stroke engines have been found to produce substantial amounts of hydrocarbons, which contribute to the smog that causes air pollution. While these are considered as a primary contributor to pollution and health problems in the Philippines and many developing nations, they are still preferred by operators and drivers due to their low cost, durability and capacity.
A DENR test on total suspended particulate (TSP) level conducted on October 22, 2007 in the three barangays show the level within the standards of 230 microgram per normal cubic meter (ug/Ncm) for 24-hour exposure.
While the air quality is still within acceptable levels, noise pollution caused by tricycles is causing disturbance to residents and tourists.
Tests conducted in three stations on the island show noise levels beyond the standard value of 50 decibels (db) for residential areas and 60 db for areas along the road during mornings especially between 8 a.m. to 9 .am.
To address this problem, the DENR and stakeholders are pushing for the abolition or conversion of tricycles with two-stroke engines.
Gelito said the e-vehicles would substantially help reduce this problem.
E-jeepneys have been operating in Makati City after it was launched last year. The introduction of E-jeeps is a project of the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc. (GRIPP), a network of environmental groups including Green Peace, business firms and local government units promoting the use of renewable energy and against fossilized fuel like coal.
The E-jeeps that costs P550,00 with 5-horsepower engines running solely on electricity. An eight-hour charging of its batteries is enough to cover 120 km each day at a maximum speed of 40 km per hour, said Robert Puckett, president of the Solar Electric Company Inc. (Solarco), in an earlier interview..
The design of the E-jeeps is patterned after the original passengers jeepneys in the 1950s which were converted from American military jeeps. The units are designed to carry 10-12 passengers at the back and three passengers, including the driver, in front.