The Dynamic Philippine Tricycle

While visiting the Philippines, I was fascinated by the largely informal public transportation system consisting of the indigenous, multicolored Jeepneys and motorcycles with various types of sidecar called tricycles. The tricycle above everything else, for me symbolizes the resilience, drive and playfully inventive nature of this fascinating and dynamic country. In a place where auto ownership is the exception, inventive filipinos have created a whole transportation system and economy around a humble, small 125cc motorcycle.

In the Philippines, outside the larger cities, it is rare to see large tractor trailer trucks of the type common in the states. Everything there takes place on a smaller scale. The pickup truck and people hauler for the masses is the humble, efficient little tricycle.  Although the one below shows some wear, it provides a sample of what a "standard" tricycle looks like. It is not uncommon to see two people and a child sitting in the cab, two on the motorcycle seat with the driver and possibly two or more riding on the back or sides. Notice the Honda symbol on the back. Many tricycles and jeepneys feature logos of car manufacturers sometimes in artfully modified form. I'm guessing the companies receive no royalties of these blatant uses of trademark, which just adds to the charm of these indigenous amalgams of transportation and art. Sometimes, in addition to being loaded with half a dozen people, goods will be strapped to the back and top pushing these little workhorses to the max.

The model below, seen in traffic along the main coastal road is a version of the common variety for hauling goods. Essentially, this pickup truck for the Philippines. There seem to be no two the same and this one has a canopy not just for the driver, but the products.

A closer look

I could never get a great shot of one of these despite them being quite common. It is a modification of the standard hauler bed with an upright frame between the driver that allows the hauling of tall items such as what seems to be a steel frame for either a gate or to go over windows as is common in the Philippines.

The standard street food cart made mobile.

Another hauler frame (above). I never thought that the standard 125cc motorcycles commonly used had the power to do the things I've seen in the Philippines.

An ornate example of the fine stainless steel work and incorporation of car motifs common on transport trycycles.

A scrap dealer, with his very utilitarian hauler, purchases bottles and cans from our household.

Everything imaginable can be sold from a mobile business on a trike platform.

American pop culture is not far away with trike owners often putting their own stamp of pride on their vehicle.

A very utilitarian rebar hauler. 

In some regions of the country, trikes can have back to back seating.

Common scene at an intersection. Notice the people hauler loaded with soda bottles. In the Philippines, most soda is still sold in returnable glass bottles. A sensible waste reducing and resource conserving idea America has largely left behind. It was a real treat to drink Coke out of glass where it always tastes better.

I borrowed this photo from OLX.com, the Philippines version of Ebay. It shows a version of a small livestock hauler, possibly for goats and small pigs. I tried to get a shot of the common full size pig hauler. Imagine a version of this shaped around the frame of a pig.