Avoiding Metro Manila Traffic (article from Manila Standard)

AS a motorist, I’ve never been a big fan of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. The mention of the agency conjures up images of traffic aides skulking around the bend, waiting to arrest hapless motorists on bogus “swerving” charges. Invariably, the arrest is followed by the descent of a small mob of other traffic aides who mill around the unfortunate victim like a wake of vultures hovering around carrion.

With these images hardwired into my brain, I was pleasantly surprised to see another side to the MMDA, one that helps rather than hassles motorists. Metro Manila Traffic Navigator (http://mmdatraffic.interaksyon.com) is a Web-based application designed to give the public quick access to live traffic conditions along six major Metro Manila thoroughfares: EDSA, Quezon Avenue, Espana, C5, Roxas Boulevard and the South Luzon Expressway.

Developed by the MMDA in cooperation with TV5, the Web site is a nifty tool for planning your route before heading out to the crowded Metro Manila streets. The default system view shows what looks like a subway map, color coded to indicate traffic conditions along those streets: green for light, yellow for moderate and red for heavy traffic. Clicking on any major intersection opens up a window that tells you how long ago the information was updated. The MMDA says information is updated every 15 minutes, which seems often enough to be truly useful.

Clicking on any of the six major routes on the left side of the screen opens up a line view, which clearly indicates traffic conditions on all major intersections along the thoroughfare. Clicking on the magnifying lens icon brings up the chosen route on Google Maps. Traffic Navigator is the brainchild of Yves Gonzalez, 28, a lawyer and iPad developer who joined the agency’s chairman, Francis Tolentino, when he first took over the agency in July 2010.

From conception to public beta, the Traffic Navigator took about nine months to develop, Gonzalez says. Data comes from the MMDA’s network of closed-circuit TVs, traffic enforcers with hand-held radios, and from the public through Twitter (@MMDANavigator) or SMS (0933-7401258). The Navigator team then plugs in the information into Navigator using a Web-based backend, and is reflected on the front-end for the public to view.

In cases where a public report is from an unknown source, Gonzalez says, the data is first verified by having a traffic enforcer go to the area if it is not covered by a CCTV. “I am now looking into ways to improve or automate the data collection for the Navigator so that we can improve our data’s accuracy,” Gonzalez says.

He adds that efforts are underway to expand the Traffic Navigator to include Ortigas Avenue, Marcos Highway, and Commonwealth Avenue, and to extend the C5 line all the way to Tandang Sora Avenue. Even at this early stage, the Traffic Navigator has received positive feedback, both from end-users and other developers. In fact, the project recently won a Boomerang Award, which recognizes the outstanding work in Internet and mobile marketing, for the innovative use of applications, technology or platforms.

“For me, this award symbolizes the power of combining technology and public service to bring real positive change to our country,” Gonzalez says in a post on Google+. Gonzalez, who has also been responsible for the MMDA’s use of social networks, says the move has already reaped many benefits, including the ability to quickly and efficiently get information out to the public, including the traditional media.

Social networks also allow the agency to get the message out to a broad audience at a minimal cost, he adds, compared to the now defunct radio and TV operations that used to cost the MMDA more than P15 million a year in salaries, equipment and leases. Gonzalez, who was recently named traffic czar for Metro Manila, adds that social networks allow the agency to respond to the public’s needs in real time, from basic inquiries to situations that require immediate action.

“Wherever I am, I can monitor Twitter to know where there are problem traffic areas that require immediate attention, so that I can then dispatch my enforcers where they are needed most. This would not have been possible before without social media,” he says. The downside?

“For those of us tasked with monitoring Twitter and Facebook 24/7, it can be very time-consuming as it eats up a lot of our personal time,” he says. For motorists who benefit from the MMDA system, however, it’s time well spent. Our own suggestions to improve Traffic Navigator: 1) Add flood alerts to indicate areas that are impassable during heavy downpours; and 2) Add icons to indicate where the traffic aides are lurking.