Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) provided free shuttle services to health frontline workers in the Philippine General Hospital to support the Department of Transportation’s ‘Free Ride for Health Workers Program.’

TMP announced its collaboration with the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), an independent non-profit organization aimed at enabling mobility for all, to provide sanitized, just-in-time transportation services for health workers.

Under this free-of-charge mobility support, up to 10 connected and sanitized shuttles are provided around the clock to cater to the different shifts of the workers. This service is equipped with a ‘Just-in-Time’ booking app that allows greater certainty in the pick-up time and at locations close to home for workers for enhanced security.

The shuttles will be provided with air purifiers and disposable seat covers replaced periodically, in addition to being frequently cleansed to reduce the risk of infection. Drivers and cleaning crew will have to wear personal protective equipment as well while observing guidelines for social distancing and passenger seating capacity

Atsuhiro Okamoto, President of TMP, commented, “To express our appreciation to the frontliners for their courage and sacrifice, Toyota partners with the Department of Transportation to support our modern-day heroes.  As a good corporate citizen of the Philippines, we will continue with our commitment to improve the quality of life of Filipinos, especially in these trying times.”

The shuttle service will start from mid-May and operate for a period of three months, with the potential to be extended based on necessity.

Furthermore, TMP has also allocated 49 vehicles to various government hospitals, local government units, and other volunteer groups to transport frontliners, healthcare workers, and other essential workers.

Meanwhile, according to Pras Ganesh, Program Director for Asia Region of TMF, “Using our expertise in mobility solutions, TMF aims to support the Philippines’ health care workers in their daily commute, by providing a solution that offers peace of mind to maintain their well-being with this sanitized, just-in-time free shuttle service.”

Other efforts to help the community include Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation’s (TMPF) donation of PPEs to a local hospital and distribution of rice and grocery packages to families in certain communities. TMP employees also pooled personal resources voluntarily to provide more PPEs to healthcare workers, basic food supply to the less privileged, and monetary support to non-regular employees.

In addition to this, Metrobank Card Corporation is giving Petron fuel rebates to frontliners who are Toyota Mastercard holders.