ComfortDelGro celebrates 15th anniversary with $150,000 donation to 3 charities

A Toyota HiAce bus refurbished and retrofitted with a fully-automatic hydraulic lifter by ComfortDelGro. 79-year-old wheelchair-bound senior Guek Chan Hong is the first to try this new lifter. ST PHOTO: LEE JIA WEN
Senior citizen Guek Chan Hong being lifted onto a Toyota HiAce bus that has been refurbished and retrofitted with a fully-automatic hydraulic lifter by ComfortDelGro. ST PHOTO: LEE JIA WEN

SINGAPORE - Home-grown transport giant ComfortDelGro Corp on Wednesday (July 11) made a $150,000 donation to three voluntary welfare organisations: Blossom Seeds, Dorcas Home Care Service and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.

Made in conjunction with ComfortDelGro's 15th anniversary, the donation includes a refurbished nine-seater bus, and free trips for both seniors and their medical escorts.

A Toyota HiAce bus used to ferry office workers has been refurbished and retrofitted with a fully-automatic hydraulic lifter, foldable bench seats for up to eight passengers as well as a wheelchair-locking device.

It will now be used by Blossom Seeds seniors for their daily trips to the clinics and hospitals.

In addition, the ComfortDelGro's MediTrip Fund has been set up with $100,000 worth of "medi trips" for a year.

These trips will be provided by ComfortDelGro MaxiCabs between 10am and 4pm from Mondays to Fridays to Dorcas Home Care Service and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.

Voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) or medical escorts may book multiple trips for their seniors at least six hours, and up to seven days in advance using ComfortDelGro's MediTrip app, which was specially developed for this purpose.

The fare at $55 per medi trip will be fully subsidised by ComfortDelGro through the MediTrip Fund. About 20 MaxiCab drivers have been trained to provide these trips.

ComfortDelGro chief executive Yang Ban Seng said: "There is a growing demand for medical escort transport service, and we have been working closely with the Agency for Integrated Care for many years to meet this need."

Ms Ong Siew Chin, chief executive of Blossom Seeds, is excited about receiving the organisation's first bus.

"The bus will help us to serve more elderly who require medical escorts. As the elderly cope with health challenges, every effort to make them less uncomfortable is helpful," she said.

Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society chairman Lee Kim Siang said the initiative will help those who need help and cannot afford the service.

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