E-vehicles now operate in Boracay
The use of electric -powered vehicles has been launched on Boracay Island as part of efforts to minimize pollution and cut down on fuel consumption.
Two e-cars and six e-bikes imported from China arrived over the weekend and were test driven on the island.
Municipal councilor Wilbec Gelito, vice chair of the committee on transportation of the municipal council of Malay and sponsor of an ordinance that will introduce the use of e-vehicles on the island, said the e-vehicles were only among the first batch that are expected to be delivered to the Malay municipality.
The e-vehicles are being subjected to demonstration and text drives especially for resort and hotel owners and operators.
"We are initially targeting the use of e-cars for shuttle services for guests of hotels and resorts," Gelito said in a telephone interview.
He said the municipal government is eyeing the use of e-bikes for collectors and employees. But eventually, all vehicles will be converted to e-vehicles.
Gelito said the e-vehicles will be less costlier to operate compared to gasoline-powered vehicles.
The electric-powered vehicles also cost less than regular vehicles. The e-cars cost from P300,000 to P700,000 each while the price of e-bikes ranges from P40,000 to P80,000.
An eight-hour charge could power the vehicles to cover 120 kilometers equivalent to several days of trips covering the the 1,006-hectare island.
Gelito said this would mean less operating costs for business owners and more income for drivers of public transport. He said estimates showed that public utility vehicle drivers could earn an additional P400 per day by using e-vehicles.
The e-vehicles will also cut down emission of fumes and noise pollution, according to Gelito.
Tricycles and motorcycles, the main mode of transportation on the island, 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.
Tests conducted last year by the DENR in three stations on the island showed 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.
The noise is largely blamed on tricycles and motorcycles.