Why Are There So Many Tricycles in Coron — and Where Are the Jeepneys?
Arrive in Coron Town and you'll notice something immediately.
Tricycles are everywhere.
But visitors who have travelled elsewhere in the Philippines may notice something else:
Where are all the jeepneys?
The Tricycle Is Coron's Main Public Transport
A Philippine tricycle is essentially a motorcycle fitted with a passenger sidecar or cabin.
In Coron, it isn't simply transportation for tourists. Tricycles carry residents to work, children to school, families to the market and visitors between hotels, restaurants and the port.
Coron's own municipal planning documents identify tricycles as the primary public transportation across its mainland barangays.
Why Not Jeepneys?
There actually are—and historically have been—some jeepneys serving longer routes outside Coron Town.
Municipal transport records list jeepneys serving several mainland barangays.
What Coron doesn't have is the dense network of jeepney routes you see in larger Philippine cities.
And the reason is largely practical.
Jeepneys work particularly well when large numbers of passengers repeatedly travel along established routes.
Coron Town is comparatively small and compact. Passenger demand is dispersed, streets can be narrow, and people often need short point-to-point journeys rather than transportation along a major urban corridor.
A tricycle can pick up one or several passengers almost anywhere and deliver them much closer to their actual destination.
For longer distances across Busuanga Island, vans and other vehicles increasingly fill the gap.
So Coron developed a transport system suited to its geography rather than simply copying Manila or Cebu.
How Do You Use a Tricycle?
Around Coron Town, you can usually flag down a passing tricycle or find drivers waiting near busy areas.
Some journeys function as shared transportation, while tourists frequently request a private or “special” trip.
For private journeys or destinations outside the center, ask the fare before leaving.
You can also arrange a tricycle and driver for longer local trips.
Coron Is Going Electric Too
Coron's tricycle story is evolving.
The municipality adopted an Electric Tricycle Ordinance supporting cleaner public transportation, and electric tricycles now operate alongside conventional ones.
So don't be surprised when the tricycle approaching you is almost silent.
More Than a Tourist Vehicle
Tricycles may make Coron Town look busy, but they're an essential part of everyday life.
They're small enough for the town, flexible enough for short journeys and economical enough to operate without waiting for a full vehicle of passengers.
The Philippines may be famous for its jeepneys—but Coron moves to the sound of the tricycle.
Discover more about everyday life in Coron with ilovecoron.com.
Because I Love Coron.
