A driver will pay you P125 or max P150 per day to lease your trike, if you are the owner.
The owner of the trike must pay P300 per year for a sticker at City Hall to operate the trike. The one time TODA fee is P20,000 with annual dues of P500. TODA = Tricycle Owners and Drivers Association.
The trike must be insured. Trikes do take a beating and the owner is responsible for repairs, other maintenance and oil changes. Tires, chain, sprocket, brake shoe, etc, are replaced by the owner. It comes around more often than some may think since the trike is on the road 6 or 7 days per week. Trike tires are replaced about every 3 months and the cost, on average, is P600 each.
The trike driver is responsible for the fuel costs. The average earning for a trike driver is P200-P300 per day. P500 earned in one day is like hitting the jackpot!
This information is from an actual trike owner in Bacolod City. He bought 2 trikes to help his brothers. He told me it is more of a gift than an actual viable business. We talked in person about an hour.
Start up costs and expenses will vary from location to location. The results are probable about the same.
A Viable Business?
Long gone are the days in the Philippines when owning several trikes and several jeepneys was a viable business. That changed in the 1990s moving forward.
People may ask themselves, why are there so many trikes and jeepneys if no one is making money? For one thing, the ownership of the vehicles may change hands many times. Very often! There is usually always someone willing to buy, thinking it is EZ money, only to find out differently later. Also, rich relatives and OFW relatives had rather buy a used trike or 2 or a used jeepney or 2 for a relative in need, so they can make money daily rather then their asking him or her all the time for money. Buying the trike or jeepney keeps them off their back forever! “Hey, I bought you a trike! Hey, I bought you a jeepney! If you messed up with the business, that’s on you!” Seen it and heard it more than once.
For those interested, if you search the net, you will get an idea of a trike and a jeepney. Prices will vary from location to location and some will just about give them away, but not actually, to get rid of the headache! Right now on OLX site, there is a Yamaha trike for sale ready to start making money for P69,000. There is a Suzuki trike for sale, ready to make money, for P64,000.
On OLX site right now, there are many jeepneys, from P85,000-P200,000 in the budget range. Yes, they are used! Most likely, overly used!
My American friend, Dale, threw out a few ideas. If you are bound and determined to buy a trike, it is not really a bad idea, even in a midsize city. You can use it for cheap *local* transportation. No need to lease it out daily and let someone tear it up and wear it out. Have a driver in the family or a friend ready to roll, For Hire Only. They can take people shopping or to the doctor on half or whole day hire as needed. They can be hired for hauling or delivery. Such as bamboo poles or even hogs. Yes, you can buy a hog cage to put on a trike and haul 2 hogs or maybe even 3 if they are not so fat. For sure, you can haul more than 3 piglets to the market or to a buyer.
You could also do the same with a jeepney, as I mentioned above.
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