Toyota Motor Philippines president Masando Hashimoto and Sta. Rosa City mayor Arlene Arcillas mark the official turnover of Lite Ace units to support the city’s smart mobility efforts.
Photographs courtesy of TMP
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Toyota Lite Ace vans stand ready to serve Pasay City commuters through a tech-powered shuttle service.
Toyota Motor Philippines recently handed over 10 Lite Ace vans — five each to the city governments of Santa Rosa and Pasay — as part of their push to support local efforts in becoming smarter, more connected cities. But this isn’t just about new vehicles. Toyota also threw in a one-year free subscription to a couple of digital tools designed to improve city mobility.
These vans come fully equipped with two main tech features: myToyota Shuttle PH and the Fleet Connected Service, both developed by Toyota Mobility Solutions Philippines.
The first, myToyota Shuttle PH, is a mobile app that helps manage shuttle services more efficiently — it takes care of route planning and booking seats, which means fewer headaches for both commuters and drivers. The Fleet Connected Service, on the other hand, is more behind-the-scenes. It’s basically a GPS tracking system that keeps tabs on vehicle locations, conditions, and even driving habits. Together, they aim to make city transport smoother and more reliable.
Before handing over the vans, Toyota actually tested the system for close to 14 months. The pilot run started in December 2023 and showed promising results. In Santa Rosa alone, over 10,000 people signed up to use the shuttle service, while Pasay recorded more than 2,300 users. Combined, they tallied around 102,000 passenger trips.
Toyota asked a sample group of users what they thought of the experience. About 98 percent of them said they preferred the app-based setup over traditional transport systems. That’s a pretty solid thumbs-up.
Santa Rosa and Pasay each have their own vision for the future. Santa Rosa wants to be a “High-level Smart City,” while Pasay is aiming for a “Smart and Sustainable Eco City.” Both goals point toward one thing: using tech to make life in the city more livable and efficient. And with these new tools, Toyota hopes to step into the role of tech partner.
It’s all part of a bigger global vision Toyota calls CASE — short for Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electrified mobility. TMP and TSMPH aim to be a provider of mobility solutions. Both hardware and software would benefit transportation and mobility in the Philippines.
