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Making a Tangible Difference in the Lives of Filipino Public Utility Drivers

[Date Created: October 31, 2013]



A COMET ride with Vice President Jejomar Binay during the 10th Year GK Expo


In this day and age when businesses try to edge out each other, a fast rising mobility management company has entered the field to make a difference.

Global Electric Transportation Ltd. (GET) offers a solution to the country’s growing problems on mobility and mass transportation. Their approach is an integrated mass transport system that is built around energy-efficient electric vehicles.

GET was born out of a mission to build green and people-friendly cities. Apart from advocating environment-friendly practices, GET has set out to genuinely make a change in the lives of the people in the city, most especially the marginalized group such as public utility drivers. GET believes that progress has never been about profits alone, it has always been about giving back to the people.

A solid partnership of American and Filipino counterparts, GET has tapped our country for its pilot roll-out of a fleet of fully electric city shuttles called The COMET (City Optimized Managed Electric Transport).

Specifically designed to fit inner city roads, The COMET can seat more than 20 passengers and because it uses lithium iron phosphate batteries, this vehicle has zero emissions.

“The Philippines is a great place to showcase what we want to do because we have a city that is riddled with pollution and congestion. Most importantly, we’regoing to take the drivers and passengers at the heart of our mission and improve their quality of life,” GET CEO Kenneth Montler said.

To help accelerate its goals, GET has partnered with Gawad Kalinga because it believes in its approach to nation-building and restoring human dignity.

Gawad Kalinga is tapped to provide the Values and Technical Training Program for the drivers of the COMET to ensure that they develop the values of commitment to work, courtesy, road discipline and responsibility towards their passengers and other motorists.


GET Driver's Training


“GK has formed GAWA, Gawad Kalinga Accredited Workers Association, to hone the values and skills of the able-bodied members of our community so we can prepare them for employment. We want them to get good jobs and be productive citizens. This in turn also helps the employers”, says Raul Dizon, GK Gawa Program Coordinator.


>> Read more about GAWA in "The Face of the New Middle Class"


Launching of GAWA during the Bayanihan Expo 2012


GET aims to uplift the lives of the often neglected public utility drivers by giving them a fixed income with bonuses and other benefits.

Also, based on records, air pollution contributes to 12% of total deaths and P14B in annual health care costs in the country and public utility drivers have always been at the forefront of this health risk with their direct exposure to smoke emissions.

And part of GET’s community-based and inclusive approach, it gives an opportunity for private individuals to own and earn from a COMET and these include the country’s jeepney drivers and operators themselves.

GET has ensured that people will not be displaced in this path to change. It is working with jeepney associations such as Pasang Masda to consider the concerns of jeepney drivers as part of its transformation plan. From the design of the vehicle to the entire ecosystem, their inputs were taken into consideration to make sure that the plans are relevant and applicable.

At the end of the day, the drivers get the benefits of training, security of income, and better work conditions.


The COMET in the streets of Metro Manila

Summing up all these points as he spoke before the Social Business Summit of Gawad Kalinga last October 2 in Bulacan, GET president Freddie Tinga stressed that it is all about to “Making a difference as you make a profit”.

“In doing business, we should focus on three things. Economical benefits, generate an incredible return on investment; environmental benefits, clean up the planet and create a better tomorrow; social responsibility, improve the lives of the people around you,” Tinga said.


***

Read more articles about COMET below:

* E-shuttle to improve lives of PH jeepney drivers (by Pia Ranada, Rappler.com)

* Is this the public-transport vehicle to finally retire the PH jeepney? (TopGear.com.ph)

* Move Over Jeepneys; the Electric COMET Will Soon Shuttle Manilans (by Ron Estur, Kickerdaily.com)


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Gawad Kalinga is not a charity, rather, it's a nation-building movement dedicated to eradicate poverty and restore human dignity. You too can help restore the dignity of labor and build the new middle class! Partner with us in building an economy that leaves no one behind, an economy that is a shared responsibility by every Filipino. Click here to find out how.


For questions about GET, please send your inquiries to getintouch@getevee.com or you can call us at 550-2220. We will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also get more information by visiting www.getevee.com or liking the official Facebook page of GET Philippines.




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