Monday, April 21, 2008
CH proposes use of e-bikes
TO cut down on fuel consumption and minimize pollution, Cebu City councilors are proposing to use electric or e-bikes for the mobility of barangay tanods and some City Hall personnel.
The e-bikes, which cost P25,000 each, does not need fuel and only needs to be charged using electricity, so it’s cost-efficient and environment-friendly to use, Councilor Christopher Alix said.
The website www.ebikes.ca says an e-bike is like a regular bicycle but has an electric motor to help the user in going uphill or biking against the wind.
Alix explained the e-bikes are also cost-efficient because the City would only spend around P5 to P7 each time a bike is recharged, as opposed to the hundreds of pesos spent for gasoline.
The multicabs used in the barangays, for example, need at least 10 liters of gasoline a day.
“Because they don’t use gasoline, they don’t produce that much smoke, so it helps control pollution, and eventually, global warming. It’s very practical to use,” Alix said.
Among other purposes, the e-bikes would be useful in the mobilization of tanods in the barangays.
The councilors saw different models of the e-bike at the exhibit of the Serrotma Alternative Modern Transport set up during the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines convention in Manila last week.
An e-bike’s battery can last up to three years. It also has fewer parts, thus requiring less maintenance and savings for the City.
Once the battery of an e-bike runs out, the user may opt to use the pedals, which reportedly produces energy to recharge the battery, Alix said.
In Manila, SM malls have started to use e-bikes for its security personnel. (LCR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 21, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here. |
