Women eyed to drive SM’s hybrid buses

CEBU, Philippines - Recognizing their role in transportation, women will be hired as drivers of hybrid buses that will be operational next month.

This initiative of SM Prime Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary Premier Southern Corporation is in response to the call to empower and include women in the transportation sector.

Also, it is consistent with the overall theme of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation: “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World”.

SMPHI vice president Marissa Fernan said this is to show that High Quality Public Transport System (HQPTS) buses, called MyBus, will provide livelihood to many, contrary to the claims that it will displace Cebuanos, particularly jeepney operators and drivers.

“This is a good development; businesses and public’s displacement is unfounded reason knowing that the buses will take underserved routes,” she said during last week’s unveiling of the HQPTS/Euro V hybrid buses.

MyBus will serve commuters in Metro Cebu plying Talisay-Mambaling, Talisay-North Bus Terminal, Talisay-Mactan Cebu Airport and North Bus Terminal-Mambaling routes.

Philippine Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya said that participation of women benefits “innovative development, economic reform and growth.”

He added that women’s access to markets and technology eliminate barriers that hinder women’s economic participation, and ensure women’s equal opportunities.

“Transportation allows for horizontal mobility, making the physical movement of people and goods from point to point simpler and, more enduringly, it allows for vertical mobility, uplifting women’s conditions by providing an avenue for them to strategically address their needs,” Abaya told leaders who attended the forum on Women in Transportation under the theme, “Navigating a Way Forward” in Cebu.

“A transportation sector that takes into account the requirements of women supports development, employment, and health. Conversely, a transportation sector that fails to address the difficulties  experienced by women excludes them.  Inclusiveness and sus-tainable development go hand in hand,” he added.   (FREEMAN)