Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1208901
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 FEBRUARY 2020 25 COMMERCIAL Director Jason Vella Tabone (left), Director Jean Paul Busuttil (centre), Audit partner Marion Caruana (right) GOTO, the island's first na- tional car sharing solution, is starting to roll out a fleet of 300 electric scooters this week as it focuses on providing innova- tive solutions for greener, more cost-effective transportation. More than 13,000 customers have made some 200,000 trips and rode over 2 million kilo- metres in GoTo vehicles since the service was introduced in November 2018 — far sur- passing the company's expec- tations— and GoTo is expect- ing similar enthusiasm for its scooters. Scooters are smaller, light- er and more convenient to avoid most traffic situations and parking constraints, which makes them particularly handy for shorter trips. During the pilot GoTo con- ducted with its scooters in the past weeks, it had 3,000 scoot- er rides in 45 days with over 230 rides a day in the last week, A large number of trips were proportionally shorter to what the company is used to with its One-Way and Roundtrip cars, especially in more concentrat- ed urban areas. With an average of 45 new cars hitting the island's roads every day, GoTo's goals have always been to offer motorists an alternative to owning a car and to think twice before add- ing to the congestion on the roads. GoTo's new CEO Gordon Bugeja said: "This reinforces our belief that we'll be serv- ing our customers even better by adding different solutions targeting multiple forms of transportation needs in a sin- gle platform, in turn making the customer experience even more seamless." GoTo is advising motorists to avoid downloading the free app at the last minute to ensure all driving licence documentation is processed in time for when you need it. Booking an electric scooter can be done through the same GoTo app as the carsharing service. For information con- tact GoTo's 24/7 call centre on 2226 8000. 300 GoTo electric scooters to hit Malta's roads HSBC Malta Foundation fur- ther consolidated its support for Nature Trust – Foundation for Environmental Education FEE Malta's EkoSkola programme by committing €10,000 towards the initiative. In line with its com- mitment to actively promote ed- ucation for sustainable develop- ment, the Foundation donated another €13,000 for the Water Explorer programme and vari- ous water projects carried out in schools. Besides the Water Explor- er Programme and the HSBC Water Programme Scheme, the HSBC Malta Foundation's con- tribution supports the Young Reporters for the Environment Programme (YRE) - an inter- national programme, includ- ing the YRE Award Ceremony. This programme encourages students to conduct journalis- tic investigations about envi- ronmental issues and then re- port it to the local community via articles, photos and video clips. Other initiatives covered by the Foundation's dona- tions include Eco-School 9th Young People's Summit, the 14 EkoSkola Parliament Session as well as the Learning About Forests Programme (LEAF) - an international outdoor learning programme promot- ing awareness and knowledge about the key role forests play for sustainable life on our plan- et and whether that role is be- ing compromised by the way of life we lead. The Eco-School programme, known in Malta as EkoSko- la, was introduced in Malta in 2002, with six pilot schools. Today, the number of par- ticipating schools in Malta and Gozo stands at 123. Eco- Schools, an international pro- gramme run by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) amongst over 19.5 mil- lion students in 68 countries worldwide, aims to mobilise schools to encourage students adopt an active role in envi- ronmental decision-making in their school and community. In 2015, the Eco-Schools pro- gramme has been recognised by UNESCO as the Programme for Education for Sustainable Development in the world. HSBC Malta Foundation further strengthens its support for EkoSkola HSBC Malta Foundation committed to the programme by donating thousands of euro towards the initiative MGI Malta, a member firm of MGI Worldwide, appoint- ed three new senior members, namely Marion Caruana as Au- dit Partner, and Jean Paul Busut- til and Jason Vella Tabone as Directors. Caruana has been appointed partner of MGI Malta, joining partner Franco Privitelli. She joined MGI Malta in 1995 and was mainly involved in audits, as she accumulated practi- cal knowledge and experience across various industries. In 2006, she moved to Guern- sey with a trust company as senior fund accountant gaining experience in different funds. Whilst working there she was promoted to team leader, then to officer and finally to 2nd VP before moving back to Malta in 2010. In 2014, she re-joined MGI Malta, this time as head of corporate and compliance. Af- ter four years working within this unit, she moved back to her roots as an audit manager. Caruana is a fellow member of the Malta Institute of Account- ants and sits on the Institute's audit and assurance commit- tee. Jean Paul Busuttil has been appointed director of MGI Fin- consult Limited, joining direc- tors Nicholas Falzon, Raymond Gatt and Franco Privitelli. He started his accountancy career in 2006 and joined MGI Malta in 2009 as head of advisory. On a day-to-day basis he is mainly involved in business advisory, and direct and indi- rect taxation for both local and foreign clients, accumulating practical knowledge and ex- perience across various indus- tries. Busuttil sits on the Malta Institute of Accountants' direct and indirect tax committee. Jason Vella Tabone has been appointed director of MGI Fi- duciary Services Limited, join- ing directors Nicholas Falzon, Raymond Gatt and Franco Privitelli. Graduating LL.D in 2010, Vella Tabone went on to become a senior associate at the Malta branch of a Gene- va-based Swiss law firm, spe- cialising in corporate finance and banking regulation. He was recently occupying the post of director and gener- al manager of a Maltese trust company and was also head of the corporate services section of the respective Malta based company In the meantime, founder partner and share- holder George Farrugia will be resigning from his directorship and partner role due to reach- ing retirement age. He will remain, however, as consultant to the board to oversee the smooth transi- tions in the firm's management structures. New senior appointments at MGI Malta