Luring Pinoys out of their houses; Poe suggests free rides to vaccination sites
Transport

Luring Pinoys out of their houses; Poe suggests free rides to vaccination sites

Jun 10, 2021, 4:46 AM
Heloise Diamante

Heloise Diamante

Writer

Sen. Grace Poe wants to provide free transportation for those wishing to get vaccinated noting that it is important for the people to realize that the government is with them and is helping them until we all see through the pandemic.

SENATOR Grace Poe on Wednesday (June 9) suggested giving free rides going to Covid-19 vaccination sites to encourage Filipinos to be inoculated.

“There is a critical need to augment the free transportation made available by the government and private sector to cover more senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and indigent residents in going to the vaccination sites,” Poe said.

The senator added that the service will also help displaced drivers by providing employment during the ongoing pandemic.

According to Poe, the government can tap into the P5.58 billion under the Bayanihan 2 law and for the administration to “show it will remain with the people’s side to see them through the entire vaccination process.”

In the United States, ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft provided free rides for citizens heading to vaccination sites since December. Each user can use up to 4 free rides until July 4.

In May, Uber reported to have provided over 2 million rides and clarified that their service is not subsidized by the US federal government.

While GrabCar remains available, Grab Philippines looks to be focusing on its GrabFood and Padala services at the moment.

Not all households in the country are car owners. Senator Poe’s suggestion can be beneficial for those households.

Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on social services, has earlier urged the government and private sector to provide bicycles to indigent workers to make their commuting easier, provide a sustainable transport alternative, and support the ongoing bike lane project.

So far, the government has administered 5.95 million COVID-19 vaccine doses–of which 4.4 million are first doses. A total of 1.54 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated.

Tags: #GracePoe, #Covid19, #Covid19vaccine, #freerides


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