On the
streets Manila, electric-powered trikes are increasingly being used as the
government tries to improve air quality. Environmentalists claim the trend does
nothing to address the real issue of climate change.
Alfredo
Forelo used to drive passengers through the streets of Mandaluyong City on a
conventional old Manila "trike."
It's a
motorcycle with an attached sidecar that can weave around traffic and - if need
be - go up onto sidewalks. He is amongst the hundreds of thousands of drivers
in the Manila metropolitan area who depend on trikes to earn a living.
"I've
driven a trike for eight years," says 38-year-old Forelo. "Driving
helps me support my wife."
While these
old motorbikes are a cheap source of income for poor drivers, like Forelo,
Manila's environment is paying the price.
According
to the Asia Development Bank, trikes emit an estimated 3.8 tons of carbon
dioxide each year. Exhaust fumes from trikes are one reason that the government
regularly warns citizens about the capital's air quality, which it links to
severe respiratory diseases. Forelo says he knows first hand about that.
"I get sick a lot, like from asthma or I often catch a cold or the
flu", he tells DW.
 |
| The older trikes are linked with respiratory diseases |
But Forelo
hopes those days are over. Four months ago, he traded in his gas powered trike
for one that runs on a lithium ion battery. His "E-trike" is the
prototype of a vehicle that the Asia Development Bank plans to mass produce and
eventually replace the conventional motorcycles with. And, in turn, improve the
Philippines' environment.
"Electric
vehicles will play a very significant role in addressing climate change",
says the Asia Development Bank's Sohail Hasnie, who heads the E-trike project.
"The Philippines government spends billions on importing oil and there are
a lot of inefficient ways this is used by trike drivers."
Hasnie adds
that the benefits of E-trikes will be felt across the board. The government
will save money and pedestrians and drivers will be able to breathe in cleaner
air. The Asia Development Bank plans to put 100-thousand E-trikes on Manila's
streets over the next five years.
But some
environmental activists in the Philippines are not impressed by the E-trikes.
Beau Baconguis, Philippines Project Manager at Greenpeace, claims these
vehicles are merely substituting tailpipes for smoke stacks.
"When
you plug in these hundreds of thousands of E- trikes, you will be using up a
lot of electricity that is very dependent right now on coal," says
Baconguis. "While the environmental impact is not direct, in terms of
emissions, the emissions are coming from coal power plants when you charge your
trikes."
Other
observers claim the E-trike's lithium ion batteries are not a realistic energy
alternative. "The problem with lithium ion batteries, they cost more and
virtually zero after sale service in the country," says Red Constantino,
director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities in Manila.
He says
that at the moment, the lithium ion batteries can only be serviced overseas.
"If one single cell breaks down, the whole battery goes kaput and there is
no repair shop anywhere for such batteries."
Constantino
adds that the $400-million loan the Asia Development Bank received from the
Philippines government to fund the E-trike program, could have been put to
better use. He says if officials really want to improve air quality, the
government should improve Manila's infrastructure and make it a more
pedestrian-friendly city.
"The
best mode of transport is walking. If you have better sidewalks, people will
walk more. Trikes encourage door-to-door transportation and they are traffic
hazards," Constantino says.
A sunny
solution
The Asia
Development Bank's Sohail Hasnie counters the criticism of the
environmentalists. He says even though E-trike drivers will depend on the power
grid to recharge batteries, total carbon dioxide emissions will still be at
least 40 percent lower with 100-thousand gas powered bikes off the streets.
"Our
project is bringing all these things in together," he says. As for driver
Alfredo Forelo, he says he made the right decision to get rid of his old
motorbike. He's saving money on gas and transporting more passengers with his
E-trike.
"It's
really easy to drive and more comfortable," Forelo says. And when asked if
he'd ever go back to driving a gas-powered trike, he doesn't think twice about
it. "No, not again."
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