MOBILITY
BAJAJ
Words by Arnel Doria
ANG BAGONG BIYAHE e have come a long way since the calesa — the first mass transportation introduced by the Spaniards. These were replaced after the Second World War with the ingenious jeepneys, upcycled from abandoned Willy’s military jeeps. There are still about 250,000 of them according to official registration data from the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
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The arrival of mass-produced motorcycles from Japan in the late ‘50s July 2021
/ early ‘60s did not escape the ingenuity of the Filipinos. In no time, backyard fabrication of sidecars that were attached to the motorcycles started, and the era of tricycles begun. They came in designs that vary from province to province. Later, the motorela that looked like a tiny jeepney appeared in northern Mindanao. Nowadays, we see a different design of a three-wheeler, referred to as tuk-tuk, distinctly different from the tricycle. While the latter is built around a 2-wheeled motorcycle pulling a sidecar,
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the tuk-tuks are built as three-wheelers from the start. Hence, tuk-tuks are more balanced and sturdier. Bajaj is currently the leading threewheeler brand, continually expanding its market base from the present 50,000 units concentrated in Tagaytay, Mati, and Siargao. Bajaj’s 3-wheeler models offer transport solutions for passengers and commercial goods. As such, they’re the most affordable vehicles for personal mobility and business transport, while also being safer. gadgetsmagazine.com.ph
