Call for volunteers to drive those in need to their vaccination centre

PETALING JAYA: Volunteers wishing to help those with mobility challenges get vaccinated during this pandemic may now drive them to their respective vaccination centres (PPV).Those needing assistance during this period include persons with disabilities and senior citizens.

GoCar Malaysia, a car-sharing company based here, is offering this opportunity for volunteers to drive people around in the Petaling district in the quest to speed up the Covid-19 vaccination process.

The company’s chief executive officer, Wong Hoe Mun, said under its GoVax Heroes programme, volunteers will be assigned to operate the free GoVax shuttle service to the following PPV: Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, Hospital Shah Alam, Klinik Rakan Medik Petaling Jaya, Universiti Malaysia Medical Centre and Ideal Convention Centre Shah Alam.

The pick-up points for passengers of the free GoVax shuttle, which is on offer until Aug 31, are Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, parts of Shah Alam, parts of Puchong, and Kota Damansara.

“In order not to disrupt the weekday schedule of the volunteer drivers, they will be assigned to duties scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays,” said Wong.

Volunteer drivers, he added, must hold a valid Malaysian driving licence and will be provided with GoCar vehicles as well as have their fuel and parking fees covered while on duty.

Appointments can start as early as 8am and end as late as 6pm, and typically, each driver may need to ferry three or four passengers a day, he added.

“There will be a small token of appreciation for volunteer drivers in the form of RM30 worth of GoPocket points per day.”

Wong said GoCar will also issue a letter for GoVax Heroes on the day they are volunteering to facilitate the process when they pass through police checkpoints.

There will be an online briefing session for every driver before the drive day and volunteers are required to collect the GoCar from its office in Jalan Kemajuan here.

“However, a volunteer driver must also first sign up as a GoCar member in order for the company to process the necessary documentation for anyone who drives a GoCar,” he added.

The free GoVax shuttle was launched on May 31 as a collaboration between Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei’s office and GoCar to address the people’s challenges of getting to the PPV, many of them not easily accessible using public transport, especially trains.

Those wishing to book a free GoVAX shuttle may call 1-300-30-2633 or make the request via the GoCar app.

Due to the limited number of drivers, bookings must be made at least three days ahead of the vaccination appointment.

The GoCar team will evaluate each request to determine the applicant’s eligibility and reply within 24 hours.

As of Friday, GoCar has fulfilled more than 300 requests for the free shuttle service.