PH News | Pasig City Deploys Eco-Friendly rides to transport hospital frontliners

To contain the spread of the coronavirus, a mass public transportation ban is currently imposed in Luzon. This has left many citizens, especially frontliners struggling to travel from a place to another.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and the Pasig Transport Department were quick to offer a new solution after the Local Government (DILG) rejected his plea to lift the ban on tricycle service.


In partnership with Global Electric Transport (GET), two Community Managed Electric Transport (COMET) units are now deployed for free rides in Pasig most importantly for essential frontline government personnel and healthcare workers.

These vehicles can transport 10 persons at a time. For non-emergency cases, a unit can transport 20 seated passengers and 10 standing passengers.COMET vehicles operate from 7 AM to 10 AM and from 5 PM to 9 PM, with a designated route as posted by Pasig Transport on their Facebook page.

Aside from this,GET Philippines offers a complete service team including drivers, free of charge, to Pasig City.


“[The e-vehicle is] really helpful for the environment because as a zero-emission vehicle, it doesn’t release any of the harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases that a typical diesel engine would, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or particulate matter,” Kylie Tinga, Sustainable Transport Specialist of GET said.

Tinga assured the safety of the passengers from the coronavirus as the shuttles will be appropriately sanitized before departing.

Tinga added: “After every ride, the vehicle is sterilized as per the standards of the Pasig city government, and the vehicle is not allowed to depart until it has been deemed appropriately sanitized. The driver and conductor of each trip keep a vigilant tally of the number of people on board at any given time, and the seats have been marked to indicate the appropriate distance passengers must keep from each other.”

To address the crisis in public transportation, the city of Manila has also offered 189 e-trikes for its medical personnel.