On any day, the number of vehicles, mostly tricycles, passing Perdices Street in Dumaguete could outnumber the traffic on many other streets combined.

With their unique single roof design, tricycles take up more space than they actually need, which many people partly blame for occasional traffic snarls.

But that may soon change.

In a bid to make Dumaguete City comply with provisions of the Clean Air Act, Councilor Samuel Dicen said he wants to convert some motorized tricycles into the pedal-powered pedicabs that used to roam the city streets in the 1960s.

Dicen said the Act requires that public utility vehicles should be replaced after five years. He said an ordinance he sponsored in the city council requires the replacement of public utility vehicles every seven years.

"However, this provision has not been enforced," he said.

That's why Dicen said he is toying with the idea of enforcing this provision by requiring at least 100 tricycles to covert to pedicabs.

These pedicabs could do business along the busy Perdices street, which will be declared as off limits for tricycles. They may, however, cross Perdices street.

"The come on for the tricycle drivers is that the pedicab unit is free," he said, "while they get to keep their old tricycles for personal use. If the project is successful, we may convert another 100 MCH units into pedicabs."

He said Gov. George Arnaiz has indicated his desire to help the City in its bid to be compliant with the Clean Air Act by providing the pedicabs.

Dicen said this idea is now being studied by a committee, which will give its report by January.*AP

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