South Korean car firm Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) has sealed a partnership with leading oil firm Petron Corporation in collaboratively supporting the “Libreng Sakay” or free ride program that the Department of Transporation (DOTr) has been championing to guarantee ease of mobility of the health workers and other frontliners trooping into their daily jobs and selflessly aiding in the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The DOTR-underpinned “Libreng Sakay” has 20 specified routes, with designated drop-off and pickup points, primarily for medical workers that have been serving in various hospitals and health care facilities in Metro Manila.
In May this year, which was the height of lockdowns in the country and transport system proved to be a major hurdle, HARI formally turned over three (3) Covid-ready vehicles to support the DOTR’s free ride program and at the same time institutionalize the “Ligtas Byahe” or “safe travel” solution for the frontliners.
By this time, more than 3,000 medical front liners, including doctors, had already been served or catered to by the Hyundai shuttles so they could go to their places of work on a daily basis and continually be in the forefront of caring for the patients affected by the health plague.
The car firm said it developed and produced the Covid-ready vehicles, and anchored it on its best-selling H-100 shuttle, HD36 shuttle and modern jeepney HD50S Class 2.
Petron is the free fuel provider to the Hyundai shuttles, hence, marshaling a partnership that not only eases the burden of mobility but one that has also been helping take the pressure off from the frontliners’ pockets.
As highlighted by HARI President and CEO Maria Fe Perez-Agudo, “with Petron as our partner, expect our Ligtas Biyahe vehicles to be at optimal service to our front-liners as we move towards a better normal,” adding that “this cements our commitment to provide the riding public vehicles that are safe and convenient in these challenging times.”
For Petron, which has been passionately supporting the government’s Covid-19 response strategy since March, president and CEO Ramon S. Ang noted that being Hyundai’s fuel partner, “we look to further our mobility aid efforts by providing free fuel to the DOTr and MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority).”
He emphasized the oil firm has been “giving fuel discounts to frontliners, and making essential food items available at our service stations together with our parent company, San Miguel Corporation.”
As this tie up gains traction, Hyundai said it will continue “to closely monitor developments in the country in order to develop new ways to assist customers,” especially at the time when the pandemic already wanes and the country gradually shifts to a ‘new normal’ pace of life.
HARI said its vehicle fleets “have been declared highly compliant with the DOTr’s guidelines for the transport sector under ECQ/GCQ,” or in reference to the enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine of lockdown measures in the country.
Prime features of the vehicles include contact-less payment systems, individualized seating, plastic dividers and they also boast of sanitation components.
The DOTr granted certificates of compliance (CoC) to Hyundai’s H-100 Class 1 modern jeepney and HD50S Class 2 modern jeepney last year; while its HD50S Class 3 modern jeepney, which just had its market debut in January this year, has yet to go through the transport department’s stringent testing.