The Versatile Philippine Tricycle
Looking for a cheap ride that will drop one off at the exact address? A cab is too expensive and a jeepney will only go so far. A bus won’t fit in alleys. So what’s the remaining option? A tricycle ride.
The tricycle is a Philippine transportation vehicle that rules inner roads and alleys. Well, on second thought, it rules even highways at times. It can go from one street corner to the next, or one town to the next, or one city to the next. There are times when it goes from province to province. Why not, when in fact it is actually a motorcycle?
When the tricycle was first used as a Philippine transportation vehicle, no one seems to know. A few claim they hadn’t seen the thing before the Japanese time. Many aver tricycles started appearing on the road scene after World War II. Others declare it almost co-existed with the converted GI army jeeps. Accordingly, excess body parts left after the conversions were used to assemble sidecars attached to motorcycles, and thus the “tricycle” that has been known since in Philippine transportation.
The tricycle is a Philippine transportation vehicle that is so versatile. It is adaptable in rural and urban applications. It can serve passengers rain or shine. It can take one to several street corners, the next town, or even the next city or province for the right contract fare. Tricycles are known to rule even national highways.
For instance, they are seen amid MacArthur Highway leading a train of cars, buses, and trucks behind them, which often cannot overtake and have to keep pace with them. This Philippine transportation three-wheeled vehicle can traverse highways, city streets, inner roads, alleys, dirt paths, and even in places where there are no identifiable pathways. Tricycles strike anywhere.
Normally, a tricycle can accommodate 4 passengers (including the driver), if safety measures are considered. But often one will see this Philippine transportation vehicle carrying 10 to 20 passengers, mostly daring students or youths, squeezed in the sidecar and at the backseat behind the driver, some hanging from the rear and side of the sidecar and more atop its roof.
This Philippine transportation mini vehicle is often seen carrying loads of market goods, hardware, or furniture and appliances. Tricycles even act as ambulances carrying patients or the injured to hospitals.
Nothing beats the versatile Philippine tricycle, which can be the third wonder of Philippine transportation, following the crazy jeepney and the monstrous traffic.
Related topics:
Enjoying Philippine Transportation More
Philippine transportation can offer us slices of Philippine life at a glance.It is as rich as an actual tour of the city. And the most thrilling is that a Philippine transportation experience can afford a more exciting glimpse of a...
The Philippine “Jeepney”
Philippine transport is spiced up on the road by a unique public vehicle traceable to the US army jeep in World War II. Nowhere else in the world do jeepneys ply the roads and highways so proudly except in the...
Philippine Transportation: Roaming with a Scooter
With the growing challenges of heavy traffic mounting in the Philippine transportation scene, scooters are a timely blessing. There are many ways a scooter easily surmounts transportation problems that makes it one of the perfect choices for Philippine transportation. ...
When to Use What Public Transport
Travelling around cities is a heavy burden when one doesn't know how to travel around them. Knowing the specific uses of different public vehicles and the major and minor routes around would be like a thorn off one's throat....
Manila Transportation
Manila transportation provides both local and foreign travelers a wide array of options for going to their destination. Several modes of transport takes passengers to major thoroughfares as well as the city interior. ...
Jeepneys, Philippine Cultural Way of Travel
If you want to know what Filipino culture is like, try riding a jeepney. This unique way to travel in the Philippines is a warm welcome to the history and hospitality that is uniquely Filipino. It might just be a...
A Metro Leisurely Ride
The Philippine calesa has been an unsung hero of Philippine transportation. It has been serving generations of locals and tourists not just in modern transportation but in being transported back to the glorious past....
Unique Ways to Travel Across the Philippines
Traveling in the Philippines can be fun and rewarding as well. You can travel through air, by sea or by land and still enjoy the archipelago’s sights and sounds. Learn the different modes of transportation and see what makes each...
Some Scooter Disadvantages
In its growing popularity as a Philippine transportation mode, it is timely to review the drawbacks of scooters to weed out some of its disadvantages. Then scooters can be exploited to their full potential as a practical Philippine transportation option....
The Art of Traveling in a Jeepney
This essay teaches those people who want to travel in the Philippines on how to use jeepneys as a means of transportation when going around the city. There are also tips on how to appear polite when riding jeepneys....
2 Responses to “The Versatile Philippine Tricycle”
Leave a Reply
Hi,
I am looking for a place to build/buy/ a tricycle for a brother in law I have near Manila.
Any ideas ?
dwayne2@gmail.com
Hello, I am a german tourist and want to travell with a trycicle. Is it possible to go everywhere? I know, that some highways are closed for trycicles. And I even can´t go to Makati to get my retiree visa there. But Can I reach every town I want? I would like to go to Samar and Leyte too. D. Schubert