Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1276949
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 AUGUST 2020 13 COMMERCIAL GoTo heads to the new normal GOTO is mapping the road ahead for the eco-friendly shared mobility operator following the COVID-19 pandemic, not just ensuring its full range of servic- es meets increased demand, but also launching a new campaign that promises to extend its reach even further. Like many service sectors affected by the global COV- ID-19 pandemic, the mobility industry – including Malta's multi-modal vehicle sharing platform, GoTo – was all but brought to a halt. However, this sudden inactivity inspired creative solutions within the GoTo team in order to main- tain momentum throughout this challenging time. "The mobility industry has been among those most im- pacted by COVID-19 as people stopped using transportation," explains GoTo CEO Gordon Bugeja. "We decided early on to ask most of our staff to work from home, and to promote multiple measures to incentiv- ise our customers to stay home, despite the effect this had on our business. "It compelled us to look at alternative ways to generate income, such as helping busi- nesses make deliveries or sup- porting them with vehicles that they could use to keep their op- erations afloat." Nevertheless, GoTo has not- ed an ever-increasing rise in reservation figures, often sur- passing a thousand rides per day, as the country adapts to the 'new normal' following the pandemic. In fact, in February 2020 – just one month before the pandemic reached Mal- ta – GoTo also launched an electric scooter rental service that is now exceeding all ex- pectations by nearing the high popularity of GoTo's One-Way and Roundtrip services already available in its fleet of electric cars. At GoTo, accompanying this wave of success is a re- newed commitment to making the innovation available be- yond Malta and Israel, into the rest of Europe and, ultimately, the world. "GoTo's global vision is to provide an end-to-end shared mobility experience, covering diverse mobility needs from micro-mobility to one-way and roundtrip car-sharing and be- yond," continues Mr Bugeja. "We have secured a $19 million funding round to help us ex- pand our multimodal mobility services into Europe, provid- ing our customers with ulti- mate mobility confidence and becoming an equivalent of car keys, so that wherever they are, there may be a GoTo vehicle for them to use. "We are looking forward to launching in the first city later this year." Meanwhile, venturing into new horizons is not the only change taking place at GoTo – the company has also launched the 'Change – Let's Give it a Go' campaign, which draws on humanity's renewed priorities following the lessons learned through the pandemic. "If there's any silver-living from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that it has shown our abili- ty to change and unite towards a common goal, overcoming challenges to stay connected, reduce conflict, and even lower carbon emissions globally," ob- serves Johnny Tominaga, Chief Marketing Officer at GoTo. "Our 'Change – Let's Give it a Go' campaign aims to inspire people to continue reshaping their habits purposefully, with the intent of creating a better tomorrow, not only because we should, but because we can. "We believe shared mobili- ty and replacing combustion vehicles with electric ones ad- dresses that, so we invite every- one to try our services – but we hope it doesn't stop there. Positive impact can be gener- ated anywhere and by anyone. Every effort helps and we in- vite everyone to take the first step towards bringing positive change to the world." For more information about GoTo, visit www.goto.com.mt. You can download the app on Google Apple App Stores Vassallo Joiners entrusted with new timber lantern for The St John's Co Cathedral Foundation VASSALLO Joiners, which forms part of Vassallo Build- ers, was recently entrusted by The St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation, with the replace- ment of the 75 year old timber lantern. The purpose of this lantern is to shed natural light onto the Oratory which holds the very prestigious Caravaggio painting of the beheading of St John the Baptist. The new, solid Iroko lantern, which is an exact replica of the old one, was installed last week and re- quired an approximate four- hour operation at the very early hours of the morning in order to avoid road distribu- tions and to make sure they adhered to all health, safety and security regulations. Vassallo Joiners was estab- lished in 1974 and their crafts- manship caters for domestic, commercial, restaurants and hotels, furnishings, apertures, structures and wrought iron/ steel structures.