| Summary, etc |
Electric vehicles (EVs) are recognized as a promising solution for transforming the public transportation. However, there are barriers to the adoption of EVs encounters, such as high upfront investment and operational costs, limited charging networks, concerns about vehicle range, and gaps in public awareness. This study investigates the socio-demographic, economic, and technological barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) as an alternative mode of transportation in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines. Utilizing a descriptive-participatory approach, surveys and interviews were conducted among 382 public tricycle drivers and operators. This study employed Relative Importance Index (RII) to rank the barriers and Spearman's Rank Correlation to assess the strength and significance of the relationships between key variables. The results reveal that high initial purchase cost of an EV is the most crucial to the adoption, among tricycle drivers and operators with 67.3% earning below ₱10,000 monthly in Tuguegarao City. Despite acknowledging these barriers, the overall intent to adopt remain neutral. Correlation analysis revealed a weak positive but statistically significant relationship between both the Economic Factors (ρ=0.216, p= <.001) and Technological Factors (ρ=0.210, p= <.001), suggests that improvements on financial incentives and infrastructures can slightly increase willingness. Furthermore, a weak but statistically significant correlation were found with Age Group (ρ= -0.200, p= <.001), Educational Attainment (ρ=0.163, p= .002), and Family Monthly Income (ρ= -124, p= 0.019). The negative correlation with the family income suggests that lower-income households are slightly more hesitant to consider EV adoption. The study recommends targeted policies focusing on financial incentives, improved charging infrastructure, and public awareness campaigns to accelerate EV adoption and promote sustainable transportation in Tuguegarao City. |