Reducing Tricycle Noise in the Philippines' Puerto Princesa City
THIS CITY, a popular tourist destination, prides itself as the cleanest and greenest in the country. But it may well be one of the noisiest cities too because of its tricycles.
Just like any other bustling city in the country, the city has air and noise pollution problems. The pollution is mainly caused by having too many of these poorly-maintained two-wheeler and three-wheeler tricycles. Here, they are “king of the road,” unlike in other Philippine cities where it is the jeepney that reigns “king.”
Puerto Princesa’s tricycles are fast-becoming tourist icons on their own like Thailand’s tuk-tuks. Its unique larger-than-usual design is intended to transport not just people, but cargo too. They are fitted with sidecars with shelves at the front and back sections to load agricultural produce. The windshield is wide and the sidecar is roomy to accommodate more cargo or passengers. The city is basically an agricultural and tourism area, hence the need to have a rear cargo compartment, inspired by the vintage cars of the 1950s.
Each tricycle measures 1.6 meters in height, 1.8 meters in width, and almost 2 meters in length. The tricycles are generally not roadworthy in design because its large sidecars are relatively unstable, and most engines are old model-types and poorly-maintained. Therefore, they take more effort to operate and make more noise than their counterparts, reaching 90-97 decibels (dB). Studies suggest that prolonged exposure to noise levels at or above 80 dB can cause deafness.
Due to growing demand and population growth, the number of tricycles has increased and are expected to further increase. In 2001, when City Mayor Edward Hagedorn stepped down from office and the tricycle population increased dramatically. When he assumed office again in 2003, the tricycle population had ballooned to more than 3,000 tricycles and traffic was very bad. As of 2005, there were about 4,000 tricycles in Puerto Princesa’s poblacion.
Hagedorn implemented a number-coding which later became a color-coding scheme for the tricycles, where they were either colored blue or white, to ply the city streets on alternating days. This effectively cut by half the number of tricycles plying the city streets, thereby reducing air pollution.
“It’s an embarrassment to be promoting the city as environment-friendly when there was so much air pollution. So we had to make a very drastic move – cut the tricycles into half. And traffic was immediately reduced,” recalled Hagedorn during a chat with Manila business reporters who visited the city last year.
“The driver now will have at least one day or two days a week with his family and he will be able to maintain his vehicle. Those who will go out that day will double his income because he has less competitors. Those who are more industrious can even triple their income. Smoke emission is reduced. Since there are now more passengers than tricycles, they would not have to spend more on fuel in going around and around the city. ”
But the coding scheme has not been able to address other problems like poor tricycle maintenance and providing drivers with alternative livelihood in a city with a 14 percent unemployment rate.
In a 2003 survey conducted by ADB, it was found that 70 percent of the drivers do not properly maintain their tricycles, which could help cut down its noise. Most tricycle drivers are low-income earners. They only earn a daily net income of between P100 and P150, or less than $3. Tricycle-driving is a popular means of living here since it does not require much skill.
The ADB study also found that the road network is mostly made-up of narrow streets and is not expanding. Thus, all directions point to a future increase in demand for tricycles, despite the hazards they pose on the streets. They clog the city streets, slow down traffic, and are more accident-prone than cars. More than half of the tricycle population in the city are at least 5 years old, while about 40 percent are more than 10 years old.
But there is hope for the city’s air pollution problem. In late 2005, an Air and Noise Pollution Reduction Strategies Project was launched from a $240,000 ADB grant. The project aims to reduce the air pollution from tricycles by the third quarter of 2006 and provide more “teeth” to the enforcement of air pollution laws. Half of the fund will go to a Tricycle Multi-Purpose Fund where operators can upgrade their engines from two-stroke to four-stroke engines or for other means of livelihood.
Drivers will be also be trained on the proper maintenance of their tricycles, and the city’s enforcement and monitoring of its Clean Air Act laws will be strengthened, especially for roadside emission monitoring and in catching smoke belchers. Registration of engines beyond 15 years of age will be restricted.
The grant, from the ADB’s Poverty and Environment Program (PEP), will also tackle the environmental and the underlying social issues surrounding the tricycle sector. The lessons learned from the project will be the basis in formulating and replicating strategies in other Philippine cities with a similar air pollution problem.
“It’s not only the preservation of our forest and marine resources that is our goal here in Puerto Princesa but also for us to help in reducing global warming. And this is through our efforts to prevent or minimize air pollution. That is why it is very important that ADB supported us with this fund to help us in our desire to become part of the solution and not the problem in the preservation of our environment,” Hagedorn said during the launch.
Yue-Lang Feng, an ADB Principal Environment Specialist, warned about the health hazards of being constantly exposed to air pollution. “Most people do not realize that there are so many pollutants in the white smoke from tricycles. The very tiny particulates in the smoke absorb sulfur dioxide and other volatile organic chemicals which go into your respiratory system and to your lungs,” she told the tricycle operators and drivers at the launch.
"Day by day, those pollutants accumulate in your lungs and finally damage your health. It might cause asthma, it might cause respiratory disorder. Many of you might not be aware of such health impacts."
About a third of the total vehicle population in the country is made up of these two- and three-wheelers, which are popularly used in both urban and rural areas. But they remain a popular transport vehicle for residents in local government units due to their high accessibility, availability, affordability, comfort and convenience. They are much less expensive than other vehicles and therefore play an important role in the country’s overall transportation system.
About 94 percent of these motorcycles and tricycles have two-stroke engines emitting fine-particulate matter, which pose a danger to public health that can result to premature death. It can have nonfatal effects on respiratory symptoms, exacerbate asthma, and cause changes in lung function. Since two-stroke engines have low fuel efficiency, the incompletely-burned gasoline and lubricant are emitted as small oil droplets which increase visible smoke and particulate emissions.
Commercial tricycle operations are often extended beyond their useful life so that maintenance is often postponed. Most drivers also use excessive lubricant due to lack of knowledge on the correct ratio or their perception that it increases fuel efficiency. The use of adulterated gasoline with kerosene is also practiced, because of high fuel prices.
By late-2006, the city can expect better air and less noise. It supports the goal of making Puerto Princessa city the number one tourist destination in the country in a few years’ time.
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