When we talk about Philippine modes of transportation, what usually comes to mind are the
‘King of the Road”, jeepneys. But in the provinces and barangays where these “King” can’t
roam, tricycles have become the main mode of transportation. A tricycle is the Philippine version of
Thailand’s tuk-tuk, where a motorcycle has a sidecar bolted to its side. In Bangar, La Union, there is an
ingenious tricycle invention known as the Kotse-kel. A Kotse-kel is basically a combination of a kotse
(car) and a traysikel (tricycle). It looks like a mini car that is attached to a motorcycle. Philippine Trike
Project proudly presents our tricycle builder for the month, Johnny Lozano of Johnny’s sidecar.

Johnny began as a helper in a sidecar fabrication shop when he was 18 years old. Eventually,
after being in the industry for so long, he learned how to make sidecars by himself and decided to put
up a shop of his own. He now has 3 other people helping him make the sidecars. Two are doing the
welding and one is painting the body of the sidecar.

They make 2 different types of sidecars, the back-to-back and the Kotse-kel. The back-to-back is
the most common design for tricycles in their area. It can seat 5 persons with 2 in the back, another 2 in
the front and 1 at the back of the tricycle driver. The price usually starts at Php 50,000. The Kotse-kel,
on the other hand, seats 2 in the front, one at the back of the tricycle driver and features a
compartment at the back for the goods of the passengers. The price usually starts at Php 60,000. You
might be wondering how hot it must have been to be inside a kotse-kel, but worry not, because they
installed a cooler and a sliding window by the driver’s side to allow air to pass through and keep the
passenger cool while inside.

Creating these amazing designs are surely not an easy feat. Johnny’s team takes around 15 days
to finish a body build and another week for the paint. In a month, they can finish 4 sidecars. Waiting
time for the sidecar is usually 2 months. But it surely is worth all the wait because the designs are
masterfully and passionately crafted by the skillful hands of Johnny’s team.

Should you be interested in having one of your own back-to-back sidecars or Kotse-kel, you may
visit their physical shop at Gen. Terrero, Bangar, La Union or their Facebok page, Johnny’s Sidecar, or the
personal Facebook account of Johnny Lozano. They also accept orders from neighboring provinces like
Pangasinan, Pampanga, Isabela and Ilocos.
Stay tuned and be amazed with the other designs of other Filipino tricycle builders in the
upcoming months.