Delsie Chan gets her first EV ride on First Balfour’s BYD T5A minibusFirst Balfour has shifted one of its employee shuttle services from a fuel-powered vehicle to a 100% electric, zero-emission electric vehicle (EV).

Upon hearing about the EV’s scheduled first trip, frequent EDSA shuttle service rider Delsie Chan said: “I think this will be the first time I will be able to ride an electric vehicle and there’s already this sense of pride knowing that we (First Balfour) are among the first few companies to provide a free shuttle service to its employees—and an electric one at that!”

The electric-powered minibus, BYD T5A, is operated by First Balfour’s equipment hauling and sustainable people transport business T1 Transport. With a presence in more than 200 countries worldwide, BYD is one of the largest EV manufacturers in the world. The 25-passenger unit is fully air-conditioned and has front-facing seats all equipped with seatbelts. It can travel up to 130 kilometers on a single charge and can displace an estimated 8,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year.

Since moving into its Sucat headquarters in 2011, First Balfour has been providing free shuttle services to transport its employees using three routes: via EDSA, C5 and Alabang.

Of this upgrade, head of human resources Caloy Salonga said: “We have been working hard to integrate sustainability in our businesses and in how we operate. Our foray into the future starts with this first EV shuttle—a glimpse of the future and a testament to a decarbonized world.”

Championing sustainable people transport, T1 Transport also operates the employee shuttle service requirements of First Philec in Batangas.

T1 Transport business development officer Julio Valera said: “It was collaboration that made our success on the EV front possible. Without the full effort of the whole team, we would not have gotten to this point. Moving forward, there are a number of potential clients—most of them are known brands—which we are also in talks with.” (Story/Photos by:Dolly Pasia-Ramos)