Hyundai’s first COVID-ready shuttle will soon serve the mobility needs of frontliners under the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Libreng Sakay for Frontliners program.
Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the country recently, recently turned over its first COVID-ready vehicles that will be used to ferry frontliners. The first four prototypes will be loaned to the DOTr for three months.
Hyundai developed a special COVID-ready model lineup based on the best-selling H-100 Shuttle, HD36 Shuttle, and ‘Modern Jeepney’ HD50S Class 2. These units were retrofitted and declared highly-compliant with the DOTr guidelines for the transport sector under extreme enhanced community quarantine (EECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ).
Modified specifically to be used as special shuttle service, the COVID-ready vehicles feature individualized seating instead of standard bench-type seats, transparent plastic dividers, and even special dispensers and floor mats for quick and easy sanitation. Meanwhile, units designed for commercial use are installed with a contactless payment system on the front and back.
The COVID-ready shuttles will be part of the Libreng Sakay program that now has 20 defined routes, each with designated drop-off and pick-up points and schedules for medical workers. Hyundai is also part of the Hatid Estudyante program that strives to bring home over 9,000 students stranded in Metro Manila since the declaration of the ECQ on mid-March.
Hyundai’s modern jeepneys, the H-100 Class 1 and HD50S Class 2, have passed their road-worthiness tests as they already received their Certificates of Compliance (COC) from the DOTr late last year; while the HD50S Class 3 modern jeepney which debuted in January 2020 was poised to undergo the Department’s stringent testing.
“Since we began our commercial vehicle business in 2016, we strongly supported PUV Modernization. The situation, however, has drastically changed and we have quickly adapted our vehicles in order to keep on serving the public. In just a few weeks since its conceptualization, we were able to manufacture vehicles that are not only safe, efficient, and convenient, but enabled for contact-less transactions,” shares HARI president and CEO Maria Fe Perez-Agudo.
“These ‘Ligtas Biyahe’ vehicles underscore our pledge to ensure the health and safety of our customers in these challenging times. Employees, businesses, and the riding public can have peace of mind when they ride our vehicles,” she concludes.