Tricycles are an iconic vehicle as a mode of transportation for the common Filipino. If you live in the Philippines, at least at some point in your life you have ridden a tricycle.
Some people even rely solely on tricycles as a way to go from one place to another and is very common especially in the mountain provinces. Along with the jeepneys, it is always an experience to ride one of these in the Philippines and is something that you should do when planning on travelling leisurely in the country.
However, if you have not been in other provinces of the Philippines, there are actually many kinds of tricycles for each different region maybe because of the different culture and history. After all, the staple tricycle has been around for a very long time as a revolutionary transport since the kalesa.
Thus, in this article, we will explore the different kinds of tricycles in the Philippines so that the next time you visit another province, you know what you are riding on.
1. Sidecar Trike / Rickshaw Sidecar
The most common tricycles are the sidecar tricycles, with a side component that passengers get in and sit on. Usually it can fit three to four people in the front side of the side car and two people most at the back side of the side car. At times one or two people could sit behind the driver on the motorcycle. The upper part of the sidecar is usually used for luggage.
2. Cargo Tricycle
Cargo Tricycles are tricycles with a large area for containing cargo on the back area. They can be found in many places of the Philippines such as Leyte. Many things can be transported using this kind of tricycle and they can be transported efficiently as well. Sometimes, especially when the owner has family members that need to go somewhere but cannot ride on anything else, they would ride on the cargo tricycles instead.
3. Bajaj Re / Tuktuk / Auto Rickshaw
Most of the time called the Tuktuk or the Bajaj Re, the Auto Rickshaw is a kind of tricycle with the passenger seat behind the driver as opposed to the Sidecar Trike which has it beside the driver. The passengers face the same way as the driver and the vehicle has no doors to close, unless they are modified to have so. These types of tricycles can also be found in many parts of the Philippines, particularly Luzon and Mindanao.
4. Camiguin Tuktuk
Although the tricycle may be found in other parts of the Philippines, it has no definite name aside from the Camiguin Tuktuk, which is the mode of transportation in the island of Camiguin. The Camiguin Tuktuk is like a regular Auto Rickshaw but instead of the passengers facing the same way as the driver, the passengers are facing each other, much like a jeepney. In Camiguin, these vehicles are color coded depending on which direction or route they are taking.
5. Pedicab
Another one of the most well-known tricycles in the Philippines is the pedicab because of how many they are and how readily available they are. They are just like the sidecar trike, only they are not automated but instead powered by the pedaling of the driver, hence the term pedicab. The pedicab has many styles depending on the region but one thing they all have in common is that the passenger is brought to their destination by the hard work of the driver.
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