The Philippine tricycle serves much the same purpose as the Thai tuk tuk, and is a common form of public transportation in both rural and urban areas. It consists of a motorcycle and sidecar combination, with a canvas roof stretched over a framework of metal bars, welded to the sidecar. Like its larger cousin the jeepney, tricycles are usually decorated with shiny chrome and stainless steel, with various mirrors, colorful banners, and other decorations.
Tricycles can usually seat three or four people, two in the sidecar, and one or two sitting behind the driver. In rural areas, it is not uncommon to find tricycles hauling five or six people, complete with vegetables, chickens and live pigs.
Due to their inability to withstand accidents, tricycles are banned from major metropolitan throughfares, so they are usually found servicing the back roads and alleys of the typical barangay. They also do not try to compete with the jeepney routes, but are usually found in areas unserviced by jeeps, or during the nighttime, when most jeepneys retire to their garages. This means tricycles are essential when you're trying to get home from the bar at closing time.
In the smaller cities and rural areas, tricycles supplement the inadequate jeepney traffic, transporting both housewives going to market and children coming home from school. All tricycles operate much like taxis, unlike jeepneys, which usually ply fixed routes.
Fare is typically PHP5-20 per passenger, depending on how far you want to go (usually in the same town), how many passengers there are (if you are the sole passenger, and you don't want to share, you'd better shell out the P20), and how late at night it's getting (usually, early-morning rides (after 2 AM) cost one and a half to twice the standard fare, depending on your bargaining skills).