Heroes on the road: How drivers rose to the challenges of COVID-19
Over the last two months, professional drivers and commercial fleets have gone above and beyond the call of duty. They have been crucial in keeping their communities and our society generally going during this incredibly difficult moment, showing bravery, dedication and selflessness.
Webfleet Solutions has been telling some of their stories on our social media channels via our #heroesontheroad hashtag – our way of showing gratitude and honouring this amazing contribution. We’ve collected the stories so far in one blog. Take a look at these inspiring heroes.
Supporting healthcare workers
Our friends at ELIS in the UK got critical goods to hospitals and food manufacturers under exceptional circumstances. Staff at the Dartford Healthcare site worked extra shifts to supply Nightingale hospital in London – now the biggest hospital in Europe. This helped ensure that the hospital opened on time.
The team from VitalAire in Italy are also providing access to essential items. They are on the frontline, delivering medical oxygen to hospitals throughout Turin and Bergamo. With the help of carrier GiAl, they are making an essential contribution to the health and well-being of people in some of the areas most severely impacted by COVID-19.
Our friends at Spanish bus company ALSA have been working hard to help those most in need over the last few weeks. They’ve been carrying patients and health professionals, repairing and disinfecting ambulances, distributing food to health workers and needy families, and even making masks in their spare time! What a wonderful contribution.
The drivers from LOGICA ARANDA SL have taken the long trip from Metz in France to Madrid to transport oxygen to one of the biggest camp hospitals in their native Spain. Again, the level of commitment shown is incredible.
As France went into national confinement, our friends from bus operator Le Basque Bondissant donated all their remaining stock of 3520 protective masks to the emergency services of the city of Bayonne. The value of this work simply cannot be measured.
And, in Bavaria, Richard Geiss GmbH put an end to the disinfectant shortage. The solvent specialist converted its production to ensure a steady supply of hand disinfectant can reach the southern German district of Günzburg. They get around 40,000 litres per week to public institutions that then distribute the disinfectant to where it’s needed most: hospitals, clinics, retirement homes, nursing homes and public institutions.
Supporting communities
Richard van Beek works at the Innovations Library at Stichting Philadelphia Zorg, a Dutch company supporting people with disabilities to learn skills, discover talents and spend their days in fulfilling ways. For 8 weeks, Richard’s been getting Philadelphia’s ‘innovations’ to the people they support – things like bicycle labyrinths, digital barrel organs and devices that allow socialising at a safe distance. Richard told us ‘Doing this job with social distancing is hard, as I can’t make contact with our clients like usual. But when I see them smile as they use the things I bring them, it makes my whole day better.’
This is the delivery list from our friends at Lutek-Trans in Poland: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown they’ve made 19 deliveries of self-protection equipment to Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, 36 deliveries of food to Germany and Italy, 27 deliveries of production components to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany and 3 deliveries of medical equipment for COVID-19 patients in Italy. They are keeping supply to some of the most affected areas alive when it is most needed.
Coronabus to the rescue!
Meet David de Groot, a driver at Pluryn, an organization caring for young people with complex needs. He wanted to keep driving the young people from Pluryn’s Voorst facility to their essential jobs in supermarkets and care homes. He also wanted to carry others who need to get to Pluryn safely. So, David designed the ‘Coronabus’. He installed plastic sheets throughout his vehicle, ensuring passengers are always 1.5m apart, and risk is massively limited.
For two months, the Coronabus has got the young people at Pluryn where they need to go while still accessing Pluryn’s essential services. Good thinking, David!
Feeding communities
Over the last eight weeks, our friends at Transports Le Clainche have been getting crucial fresh products to food professionals throughout the Loire-Atlantique and Vendee departments of France. They’re working incredibly hard to ensure the people in their community get through this challenging time safely and comfortably.
Meanwhile, 70 van drivers from Piekarnia Cukiernia Grzybki (the Bakery Pastry Chefs) stocked almost 570 shops per week in Warsaw and its surrounding area.
And, since restrictions related to COVID-19 have been in place, our friends at Pantany Logistics in Spain have been on the road getting food and essential products to major food distributors nationwide.
Heroes on the road
It’s been an honour to see so many of our customers rise to the incredible challenges of COVID-19. The commitment to their communities has not gone unnoticed and we are all so grateful and proud to be working with such amazing companies.
Thank you to all these essential workers. You are heroes on the road!
