City dad pushes use of e-bikes and e-cars

With the upsurge of global warming, the so-called Alternative Modern Transport is being eyed as a means to help control pollution in Cebu City.

Councilor Christopher Alix, chairman of the City Council committee on health, hospital services and sanitation, said the so-called e-bikes and e-cars manufactured by Chinese firm Serrotma would be beneficial to the city.

The e-bikes and e-cars are considered practical and environment-friendly because instead of using gasoline, the vehicles use electricity and their batteries are rechargeable.

Alix said he will push for the usage of the vehicles here, especially the e-bikes, which can be very useful for the mobilization of tanods in different barangays.

Each e-bike costs P25,000 but Alix said the city will subsequently save a lot of money because they will eliminate the high cost of fuel consumption.

With electricity, the city would reportedly spend only P5 to P7 each time the vehicle is being charged compared to the hundreds of pesos the city spends for gasoline everyday for its vehicles.

Each of the city’s multicab, for example, consumes 10 litters of gasoline each day.

The e-bike has power of 240 watts and can travel up to 40 kilometers with a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour. What makes the vehicle more practical, Alix said, is that once the battery runs out, the user may opt to use the pedals to make it run, which, interestingly, can also reportedly produce the energy to slowly recharge the battery.

Serrotma also manufactures battery-operated motorcycles and four-wheel vehicles such as a shuttle called the “e-coach,” a golf cart-like vehicle called the “hunting car,” and the “patrol car” that has a siren, all of which have batteries that reportedly last for three years.

Because the vehicles have lesser parts, Alix said they need very less maintenance, thus, an additional savings for the city.

“I will propose this to the city… it’s maintenance-free, it’s gasoline-free, we can save a lot… and it helps control pollution… it’s very timely because it’s environmental friendly,” Alix said.

The Mall of Asia and the SM malls in Manila are reportedly using the e-bikes for their security personnel.

Aside from this, the AMTs are reportedly already being used in China and certain parts of Europe. – Joeberth M. Ocao/LPM