EV Cars are being offered for free use to them for 3 months, starting at Chulalongkorn Hospital.
Bangkok – Banpu NEXT, a leading smart clean energy solution provider in Asia-Pacific with a dedicated drive to meet the diverse needs of customers, is using its business capabilities and expertise in electric vehicles for a social cause in partnership with app-based car sharing service provider HAUPCAR. Through a social responsibility project called ‘Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing for Caring’, the two organizations are helping medical personnel to commute safely, conveniently and unworriedly to and from work at establishments where COVID-19 patients are treated. A fleet of 50 electric vehicles is being allocated for physicians and nurses to use free of charge over a period of three months from delivery day, starting with King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and to be followed by more deliveries to other hospitals that treat COVID-19 patients. The provision includes special services such as contactless car pick-up/return via mobile app as well as cleaning and sanitization for health safety of the users, who can easily book a car via HAUP mobile app on a weekly or monthly basis. Banpu NEXT expects this project to empower the medical personnel, helping ensure their safe, convenient and worry-free trips in time of COVID-19 threat.
Mrs. Somruedee Chaimongkol
Mrs. Somruedee Chaimongkol, Chief Executive Officer of Banpu Public Company Limited and Acting Chief Executive Officer of Banpu Next Company Limited, said, “Banpu Group has been monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic closely and we have been part of the efforts to support medical personnel and institutions in their dedicated fight against this health threat. Allocated from our funds, we have previously made donations to a value of 200 million baht approximately. Our subsidiary Banpu NEXT observes the same business policy. The company is therefore pulling together all its capabilities for the cause, which in this case refer to well-established business ecosystem, well-rounded electric vehicle business, and strong partners including FOMM Corporation and HAUPCAR to implement a social responsibility project that we call ‘Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing for Caring’.”
The project is born out of the company’s awareness about troubles and concerns of medical personnel over exposure to the health threat while to and from work at healthcare establishments that treat COVID-19 patients. By bringing EV car sharing service together with app-based car rental service offered by HAUP, the project enables the users to book, receive and begin to use a car all by themselves via mobile app without physical contact with any person—a solution to health-safe journeys in consistent with the social distancing policy. A total of 50 FOMM electric vehicles are being shared to medical personnel on a free-to-use basis for three months from delivery date. In addition to medical personnel at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, the company will be providing this service to those at Phyathai-Paolo Hospital Group, Navamin 9 Hospital and other hospitals with this need. The company has assigned HAUPCAR as the service operator of this service.
Mr. Krit Vichaiwatanapanich
Mr. Krit Vichaiwatanapanich, CEO and Co-founder of Haupcar Company Limited as the service operator of this project, explained, “This car sharing service is unique. Besides allowing physicians and nurses to use the electric vehicles with free of charge, the project helps relieve their concerns over cleanliness and risk of COVID-19 contraction with contactless pick-up and return: the users can book, unlock and drive away the car with no physical contact to any other person, in addition to applying car cleaning and sanitization measures to ensure health safety of the users. Intermediary cleaning service can also be requested by booking it 48 hours in advance via @haupcar LINE account or by calling 02-080-3960. For users’ convenience, car pick-up and return parking spaces have been designated at the three hospitals. Moreover, using an electric car is both pollution-free and energy-saving.”
Applicable medical personnel can sign up and book a car from ‘EV Car Sharing for Caring” project via HAUP mobile app in seven easy steps as follows.
- Sign up for HAUP mobile app by filling in your information and verify your identity with photos of your physician/nurse ID card, citizen ID card and driving license.
- Wait for sign-up approval and users’ rights statement via mobile app and SMS, which will be sent within 24 hours.
- Users can book a car with 48-hour lead time, specifying the desired duration of use on weekly or monthly basis and date of pick-up and return.
- Booking approval messages will be sent via in-app notification and SMS.
- Operation staff will clean and sanitize the car and ensure ready-to-drive battery power at the hospital’s designated pick-up/return parking space.
- Users should check the car’s battery power before each use and recharge it to ensure that the power level never fall below minimum indicator (rechargeable with household power supply).
- To return the car, park it at the hospital’s designated pick-up/return parking space, ensure the car is locked and press ‘end the service’ button on the mobile app.
“We foresee that the economy and consumer behaviors are shifting more and more towards sharing economy and society, including a new transportation practice based on social distancing that is being seen during this public health crisis. We are therefore speeding up our development of EV car sharing service for general public, which will become officially operational soon as an alternative for health-safe mobility. This will also help drive the use of clean energy vehicles to jointly minimize pollutions,” Mrs. Somruedee concluded.
For more information about BANPU NEXT’s business and services, please visit website www.banpunext.co.th or contact our customer service via telephone 02-095-6599 or email contact@banpunext.co.th.
