Pampanga is getting a fleet of 16 fully electric buses built for accessible travel. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the province will help run them as a livelihood enterprise.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the MVP Group's Tulong Kapatid formalized a partnership to deploy the "Love Buses." The buses will give priority to PWDs, women, and senior citizens, InsiderPH and Bilyonaryo reported.
Signed on Sept. 18
Daily Tribune reported that the project, formally called the Persons with Disabilities through Electric Transportation Services (PWD-ETS) Project, was formalized through a memorandum of agreement signed at the Meralco Boardroom on Sept. 18.
The signatories were DSWD Field Office 3 Regional Director Venus Rebuldela, MVP Group chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, and Nanay Party-list Rep. Corabel Yatco, according to Tribune. InsiderPH reported that heads of the MVP Group's corporate social responsibility organizations also attended.
Who Is Providing the Buses
The fleet is split evenly: the DSWD provides eight buses and the MVP Group another eight, InsiderPH reported. Of the MVP Group's eight:
- Four from the PLDT-Smart Foundation, with support from First Pacific Co. Ltd. and ASA Philippines Foundation
- Two from One Meralco Foundation and Meralco PowerGen Corp.
- One from Metro Pacific Investments Foundation
- One from Maynilad Water Services Inc.
Global Electric Transport (GET), the DSWD's implementing partner, will handle deployment and operations, Bilyonaryo and InsiderPH reported. The buses have low-floor entry ramps and dedicated spaces for wheelchair users.
PWDs as Co-Owners
The project runs under the DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Love Bus. Under a profit-sharing model, participating PWD associations become part-owners and operators of the buses, according to InsiderPH and Bilyonaryo.
Tribune reported that the DSWD will organize SLP associations made up of PWDs to serve as the local operating units of the transport enterprise.
"By establishing PWD-Electric Transportation Services (ETS) for SLP Associations from the MVP Group's donation, this initiative does far more than deploy electric vehicles, it promotes the long-term economic self-reliance of Persons with Disabilities," Rebuldela said, according to InsiderPH.
"Ordinary and Meaningful"
Pangilinan said he hopes the buses will make everyday trips easier:
"My hopes for these buses are both ordinary and meaningful. It is for students to get to school on time, for nurses to make it to their shifts without riding multiple jeepneys and tricycles," he said, according to InsiderPH.
"The hope is for the man in a wheelchair to be able to make it to the hospital for his check-up, even if they are alone," he added.
Gov. Pineda thanked the partners and said programs should go beyond providing services by creating long-term livelihood opportunities for PWDs, Tribune reported. She stressed the importance of partnerships that promote equal opportunities, dignity and sustainable livelihoods for Kapampangans with disabilities.
What's Next
The buses are meant to connect residents to schools, workplaces, healthcare facilities and government services, and to offer a cleaner public transport option, according to InsiderPH and Bilyonaryo. The MVP Group, DSWD, GET, and the Pampanga provincial government will work together on deployment and operations. None of the reports gave a date for when the buses will start plying their routes.
