Virtual Etrike ride to Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa, Palawan

A virtual electric trike ride to Honda Bay pier, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Philippines. From the pier, you take a motorized boat to the various islands.  Filmed by Diana J. Limjoco, soundscore and editing by Toné McGuire.

Pros and Cons of Electric trike conversions

ET3 35 kilometers from home 1 way.

With the advent of 280 Million USD being made available by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to convert gasoline-powered tricycles to electric, there's been a scramble for Philippine cities to convert the gas tricycles ZEV's or Zero-Emission Vehicles. Here are my own personal notes as an etrike user.

Dave and I have been driving an electric tricycle as our main means of transportation since February 2010. We have been in research and development with them since then as well. There is no way I would go back to all gasoline car after enjoying the e-Vehicles. If we could make them go longer distances it would be better still.

The prototype we use daily is called ET3 (electric trike 3). It has a 3000-watt motor. It can seat three people in the back easily. Hills are also no problem for this unit. The tallest hill we have to climb is called Bakers Hill. I'd say it's approximately a 45-degree incline. My ET3 has no problems going up it, even with three people in the back.

Mayor Edward Hagedorn on ET3

Aside from the noiseless and emission free ride, what I love most is that I have been able to save at least 3500. PHP per week in gasoline. This is what it used to cost to drive our Expedition the comparable miles or kilometers we drive in our daily lives.

The ET3 goes approximately 100 kilometers in distance. Generally, I use it all day doing errands in town. ET3 It has a deep cycle, closed-cell batteries, they prefer being charged before being totally drained. So if I have a short run to town, say a round trip of about 10 kilometers, I charge it when I get home, then unplug it if we go to town again for dinner. When we get home from dinner, I plug it in overnight and then it's ready to go again the next day.

The cost to charge the 3KW unit is approximately 30.00 Php per day. We charge two units every night or during the day in between runs, and frankly, I can't really see the difference in our electric bill.

At the showroom we charge 4 units for the city and two other 3000 watt units. One of the city's Ejeepney's has a 7000-watt motor. We run an air conditioner all day when at the office and the bill there runs about 3500. PHP per month. Charging all of them is less than the cost of a week of running to the farm in our Expedition.

Dave Dewbre and guests on ET3

We put the 1500 watt electric motorbikes on a dedicated meter and the cost of running them is about 13.50 PHP for 60 kilometers. Keep in mind, the costs will vary from city to city. Puerto Princesa's electricity, I believe, is one of the highest in the country.

I think one of the biggest hurdles is the upfront cost. People somehow have it in their minds that an electric vehicle should be cheaper than a gasoline-run one. This is simply not possible yet.

But basically here is a simple calculation to go by. If you spend 10,000. PhP per month in gasoline, at the end of a year you will have spent 120,000. PHP.  Now that's a lot of dough in gasoline!

To charge an electric tricycle is approximately 800.00 PHP per month, at the end of the year, you will have spent 9600.00 PHP.  Now I'm no mathematical genius, but I believe that is a saving, put back into your pocket of 110,400.00 PHP per year!

Diana Limjoco with Alysha and her
electric car. We are the first all-electric
vehicle family in the Philippines.
Click photo to enlarge

The disadvantage of an etrike is that you cannot overload them like you can a gasoline engine. The electric motors are not as forgiving. Plus most units do not exceede 100 kms in distance. We watched one motor burn up last February (not our brand) when it was pushed over it's limit on an extremely steep hill.

Overloading the units with too many passengers will also cause the distance to dwindle. Driving the units too fast or "goosing" them like a gas motor, will cause them batteries to discharge faster as well.

In most Philippine cities they have what they call boundaries or routes. My suggestion is to replace the gas trikes with electric ones and set the boundaries a little below the limits of the units. You just know these trike drivers are going to push the envelope.


2 eTrikes and Dave's 5000-watt
electric motorbike. Click photo to
enlarge.

The other very important factor in conversion to electric trikes would be an extensive training period that should be required before the drivers take possession of the units. The drivers need to be taught the many variables in passsengers loads etc.
Once so many hundreds are rolled out across the nation, there is the problem of parts and service. We intend to train people as we build so they will develop the skills to weld, build the fiberglass bodies, install and repair the motors etc. We will be working with the local technical institutions who are providing OJT's. At the end of this training they will be able to branch off on their own. With the help of Micro Financing, they should be able to open up their own repair shops and provide any after market accessories each trike driver, I am sure will want to add on later. This would be a good template for the other cities or entrepreneurs to follow. Without proper training in the serivice area, the plan to replace all the gas trikes will create more problems down the road for the end user. I speak from my own experience.

We have electric motorcycles out in town, and when they bring them in for repair, its almost always operator error. And worse, they have tried to fix them on their own by cutting wire or removing parts they don't understand, compounding the problem.

It's not just a matter of converting gas trikes. It's not that easy. It's also a matter of re-educating the drivers. Without doing this, I am afraid the conversion will be more problematic in the long run. And this, is a monumental task on it's own, given that most drivers have not even gone to high school.

Dave on ET3 with 11 children riding
at the Baywalk.

As part of our public education, Dave and I do take the ET3's to the Baywalk on week end evenings when we can. We have loaded them up with 11 to 12 children and we take them up and down the length of the Baywalk. I can feel the burden on the units, but they still perform well. However, when driving home, the battery guage is inevitably much lower than had I just run to town on my own.

Related Articles:

DoE Targets Tricycles to Run on Electricity

ADB offers $280-million loan for e-bikes

Electric tricycle taxi for Puerto Princesa Airport



The Et4 etrike has removable doors

First electric tricycles as taxis for Puerto Princesa - the eTraxi.

Mayor Edward Hagedorn of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan has recently ordered the first batch of forty (40) electric tricycles (eTrikes) to serve as taxis to and from the Puerto Princesa City International Airport. The eTrikes will be supplied by local assembler Green Tech EcoCenter (GTE) in partnership with PhUV Inc., the business arm of the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Phils. (MVPMAP).

"Since the eTrikes will be locally assembled using a fiberglass body that is also locally made, this project not only helps clean the air in Puerto Princesa but also provides local employment and marginal businesses for local enterprises", says Mayor Hagedorn after inspecting GTE's prototype of the eTrike, the first ever fully assembled in Puerto Princesa.

Et4 shown with doors removed.

He explains that his long-term vision is to actually replace all 4,000 gasoline-powered tricycles in Puerto Princesa City with eTrikes as part of his Clean Air Project aimed at preserving the blue skies and fresh air in the city. "Aside from helping protect our environment, this project will also transfer electric tricycle technology to our locals and enhance the skills of our local tinsmiths, welders, auto painters, auto mechanics, auto electricians, upholsterers, trimmers, assemblers and fiberglass makers".

Diana Limjoco, GTE president, says that what GTE will make commercially available is the 4th generation of GTE's eTrike or the ET4. "This will be a full electric vehicle running solely on pure battery power. It will be powered by a 5 kw electric motor that can more than cope with large loads of luggage and six passengers comfortably seated, without straining the motor. This electric motor is of a more advanced technology as it is equipped with an internal cooling fan", she explains. The genius behind the development of the current etrikes is Limjoco hubby, Dave Dewbre who has acted as consultant on the project.



ET3 - 3000 Kw motor - very reliable etrike but not sufficient for the heavier demands of the e-traxi for the Puerto Princesa Intl. Airport.



Dying man- His wish to ride his Electric trail bike

Environment Friendly Online store received an order for a ZEV5100 Trail and long range Utility electricbike. It is the world's first street-legal electric trail and dirt road motor scooter! It can take to the pavement and serve as a commuter bike. The lead time on production is normally 90 days.

Shortly after the order was placed the man wrote an email politely asking if they could speed up the production since he was diagnosed with fatal liver disease and he may not even have 90 days to live! His only wish is to be able to ride and enjoy the E-trail/utility bike as much as he can before he dies!

Here is the text from the email...the part with him dying was added only as a P.S!

"As to what color I would like. The Camo is what I choose. Ps I would would like it if your team could put together one for myself sooner than 90 days as I have been diagnosed with I rare type of Liver cancer called hamagioendothemaloma. Say that three times fast Ha! So I may have (months) to enjoy it. Thank you for what ever you can do for me. Best regards, P" (real name kept private to respect his privacy).

It turns out that this hamagioendothemaloma cancer, is the eighth most common cause of cancer deaths in men.

Two seconds after the staff got the email, the factory wrote back and said they would pull parts of their own personal E-bikes and have the other parts flown in by airfreight ASAP so the man can get it as soon as possible.

Everyone is working fast and furious to make this last wish come true for him. Will keep you posted as this develops.

UPDATE:  They attempted to deliver the bike 3 times and found no one home. Dave was horribly depressed and so were the men on the team who did all they can to get this man his ebike soonest. Dave kept calling and emailing and finally he answered and said he had gone camping. So now on a happy note, this chap did get his wish and is enjoying riding the ebike very much.  Go team.

$280m for tricycle phase-out eyed

by Othel V. Villanueva


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.

FULL ARTICLE on Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideMetro.htm?f=2010/august/25/metro1.isx&d=2010/august/25

EV group supports MMDA on number coding exemption

By ANJO PEREZ

August 20, 2010, 9:41am

The major players in the electric vehicle sector recently expressed their full support for the initiative of Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino to exempt electric buses from the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or the number coding program.

Rommel Juan, president of the newly-organized Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (eVAP) said that the MMDA policy being drafted would go a long way towards helping the growth of the electric vehicle industry in the country.

“The EV industry is still in its infancy stage and this MMDA initiative is a major first step that could result in a giant leap,” Juan said.

It is an incentive that we hope will cover not only eBuses but all electric vehicles as well, from eBikes to eScooters to eTrikes to eQuads to the now-popular and tested eJeepneys. Chairman Tolentino is therefore on the right track and we commend him for it,” Juan added.

eVAP brings together the major players in the local EV industry, including the manufacturers, assemblers, dealers, parts suppliers, academe, NGOs, enthusiasts and advocates of electric vehicles. It aims to educate the public on environmental awareness and to accelerate the country’s conversion from using gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles.

On the other hand, Ferdi Raquelsantos, president of electric jeepney maker PhUV Inc. said that this MMDA initiative is welcome news. “The eJeepney blazed the trail for EVs in the Philippines. Its use has grown since we introduced it two years ago. It has proven to be more economical to run and less expensive to maintain. There is no cooling system, no exhaust system, no fuel system, no engine, thus there is no harmful exhaust fumes to contend with. This will surely help improve air quality not only in Metro Manila but in any locality where it operates,” Tolentino said.

PhUV Inc. is the business arm of the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP) and supplied the numerous electric jeepneys now plying the Makati Green Route (MGR) in its Salcedo and Legazpi Village loops. It is the only eJeepney that can be registered with the LTO and be given its unique orange plate. It also supplied the eJeepneys for the Quezon City government’s Hatirang Bayan program, the House of Representatives, the Puerto Princesa LGU, Plantation Bay in Cebu, DLSU Dasmarinas, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, among others.

Both Juan and Requelsantos believe that electric vehicles are not only good for the environment, they are also good for the health and the economy. “In areas where the EVs operate, there is less respiratory diseases. There is also no noise pollution. In fact, as proof, the MGR program in the densely-populated and chic Makati City is probably the first and most successful use of EVs for mass transport in Asia”, said Raquelsantos.

MORE ARTICLES:

Dec.  8, 2010 - Driving ambitions for electric vehicles in Philippines - by Dean Irvine CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/07/electric.vehicles.philippines/index.html

http://bayanihan.org/2010/08/16/metro-news-mmda-initiative-on-electric-vehicles-gets-more-support/

http://goodnewspilipinas.com/?p=10800

US Ambassador discovers the Etrikes in Puerto Princesa

Aug. 16, 2010

US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr., with Eagle Electric tricycle in front of Badjao Seafront Restaurant.

After a turn over ceremony of 4 new patrol boats that the US Government donated to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan —US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr. was invited to a luncheon to honor him and other officials in attendance. He had the opportunity and we had the honor of him checking out and liking the electric tricycles we are developing for the City.

Left of the etrike: Helen Limjoco and US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr.
To the right of the etrike: Diana J. Limjoco and Dave Dewbre of Green Tech Ecocenter

Electric Vehicles at Pangalipay sa Baybay

Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines April 13, 2010
Pangalipay Sa BayBay Parade

The city's new PHUV electric jeepney and the Eagle electric tricycles are in high demand for parades these days. We are happy to take them out so the townsfolk get used to them and hopefully someday, this city will be filled will all electric public transportation.

This parade was the kick off of summer festivities at the local Baywalk. Here are the beauty contestants who got to ride in the city's new electric jeepney. The electric Jeepney is so comfy. I love our Etrikes as well but the E jeep has ever so much more room.

Eagle electric tricycle

Everyone wants to get their photo taken with the Etrikes! Even aspiring boxers! All the electric vehicles create a big stir whenever we dispatch them for events.

Winston (above) is our on the job Training student from Palawan State University. He is getting his credits working at our Green Tech EcoCenter where the City's and our electric vehicles reside.

Dave outfitted the ejeeps and the Etrikes with special waterproof blue LED lights! They look so sexy at night and definitely get everyone's attention.

L to Right: Dave Dewbre, Alysha Ariela Ricaplaza, Diana J. Limjoco

This was the first parade we have taken Alysha to. Dave started taking Alysha for electric motorbike rides tucked into a kangaroo front harness since she could hold her own head up. She thinks electric vehicles are common since she literally has grown up around them.

PHUV Electric Jeepney Philippines

We first saw this PHUV (Philippine Utility Vehicle, Inc) E-jeeney at work in Puerto, Princesa, Palawan, Philippines in Feb. of 2010. Mayor Edward Hagedorn drove it during the Love Affair With Nature event he and the City Council sponsor every year. It really impressed us with the distance it was able to travel and the hills it had to conquer.

Our Green Tech EcoCenter is the dispatch and repair center for the city of Puerto Princesa, they sent one over last night to add to the City's repertoire of electric vehicles from various sources. It's definitely a well made machine! It's the smoothest ride most reliable of all the EV's we have riden to date.

The Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (MVPMAP) comprising local auto parts makers created this Philippine Utility Vehicle.

The quality of this product has gotten Dave  interested in expanding our horizons to include the PHUV Electric Jeepney in  our list of EV's to promote and sell along with our electric motorcycles and electric tricycles.

Our new shipment of electric motorcycles should be in by next week, and we want to be able to show them the E Jeep as an alternative for larger needs.

PHUV batterys amp hour capacity rating is 220amp hrs. Since they have a 72volt system, they have 12 pcs of 6volt deep cycle batteries. That's 16000 watt hours or 16 kilowatt hours at P8 per kwhour (meralco rate with all the side charges) is equal to P128 or $2.8per 8 hour full charge. So if it runs for 65kms then that's 1.97 per km or 5 US cents per km.

Compare this with diesel jeepneys. At 8kms per liter. 65km divided by 8.125liters times 34.25 (current price of diesel) that's P278.28 or $6 per 65kms.

That's P4.28 or 9.5 us cents per km. Electric is definitely more affordable.

.

We have driven all over town and the ride is smooth. Even on the outrageously potholed side roads this E vehicle is very smooth. After having driven it around town for almost a week now. We highly recommend this Electric jeepney!

PHUV E Jeepney

Original ARTICLE January 28, 2008

PHILIPPINES/AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRYAuto parts makers to produce Pinoy electric jeepney

The Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (MVPMAP) comprising local auto parts makers on Thursday said they will be locally designing, developing and manufacturing 44 units of electric jeepney.

Another article Thursday, 07 January 2010
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspxarticleid=447110

More articles:
http://www.bworld.com.ph/main/content.php?id=8071

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/component/content/article/59-motoring/12500-electric-rides

http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21848:1st-green-loop-in-asia-rising-in-palawan&catid=23:topnews&Itemid=58


http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/10824-e-jeepney-wows-foreign-investors