BPI installs bike racks in Makati branches
THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is installing bike racks at selected branches in Makati, as part of its push for sustainability and its continuous effort to better address the needs of all its customers.
The project is done in partnership with the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the Embassy of the Netherlands in the Philippines for their Business for Biking program, which aims to bring more active-friendly transport infrastructure and policies to various cities in the country.
For its pilot initiative, the bank has put up bike racks at the BPI Family Savings Bank Building, J.P. Rizal San Miguel, Bel-air Paseo, and Pasong Tamo Extension-edsa branches.
“This is just one of the ways by which we are responding to the evolving needs of our customers and making it easier for them to transact in our branches. This initiative also supports our drive towards greater sustainability, especially considering the high cost of gasoline these days. We hope this will encourage the use of bikes as a means of transport to not only lower carbon footprint but also promote a
healthy lifestyle,” BPI Head of Consumer Banking Maria Cristina L. Go said.
In December last year, the MBC conducted a survey to have a simple count of people who go to banks using bikes. Results showed that BPI is top of the list of banks visited by bike on short 1- to 3-kilometer rides, one to two times a week. Respondents said they go to the bank on bikes because it is faster than taking public transport and/or using their cars.
BPI immediately heeded the suggestion of MBC to look into putting up more bike racks in its branches. The bank and MBC see this initiative as a project that will greatly increase the safety and security of cyclist customers.
“MBC congratulates BPI, one of the pledgees in our ‘Business for Biking’ program, for installing bike racks in select Makati branches,” MBC Executive Director Coco Alcuaz was quoted in the statement as saying. “BPI is setting a great example for other businesses to follow in helping people who bike to get to work and people for whom biking is work, which is the goal of Business for Biking.”