How do you manage a crowd of 10,000 people who want to park all at the same time in a building?
This was what challenged Atoy Llave of Atoy Customs and Sam Liuson of Concept One Wheels, both very successful automotive aftermarket entrepreneurs actively serving CCF (Christ’s Commission Fellowship) Church as they teamed up to put together a very unique shuttle for CCF Ortigas. When the new and massive CCF building was inaugurated earlier this year, both had immediately volunteered to help out in the parking logistics serving as crossing guards, traffic marshals and sometimes even shuttle van barkers from time to time. Unlike mall parking lots, where customers come into its parking buildings throughout the day, worshippers cram their way into its underground parking entrances all within 30 minutes before each service. Together with the CCF’s parking and shuttle logistics volunteers Paul Tan-Chi, Angelo Cruz and Juancho Barretto, they realize that church’s growing parking needs require more external locations as parking alternatives.
Using an old Suzuki Super Carry as its chassis, they managed to extend its wheelbase, lower its flooring, and completely rebuilt it into a concept shuttle van that works like an open air airport microbus shuttle that can ferry about a dozen people for a limited range. Besides using fabricated sheet metal for its body, the van was given an Atoy Customs original design fiberglass front fascia to give the shuttle a very customized look.
The elevated ceiling allows some passengers to stand up while half of the passenger space has two longitudinal benches facing each other. The very simple and yet ingenious design allows passengers to easily get on and off the not-so-mini van and to travel safely at low speeds and enjoy a very open air tram-like feel reminiscent of the electric trams of old Manila back in the early 1900s.
CCF is one of the largest evangelical Christian churches in the country with a seating capacity of 10,000 worshipers per service in its newly built building along Frontera Verde (Tiendesitas) along C-5. So parking can sometime be a huge logistical challenge for the administrators of CCF. Sundayworshipers had to park in Rockwell’s parking facility in nearby Medical City and Tiendesitas’ pay parking lots and wait to be ferried to and from CCF by its shuttle vans. Atoy and Sam thought of customizing this shuttle microbus concept van and to somehow help alleviate the parking woes of CCF. Atoy Customs recently launched the “Rescue Boy” fiberglass rescue crafts and deployed dozens of these boats at the height of the recent Habagat floods that plagued more than half of the Metro.
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