A lot of you might have already seen blogs about the Traffic Navigator that TV5 and MMDA launched at the start of the month. Yes, I was part of the press conference held in Edsa Shangrila hotel that fateful night where I was seated with the best bloggers in town.
The traffic navigator aims to provide motorists a better way to view traffic situation. The application was already available to the public months before the official launch last August 1, 2011. This can be accessed via TV5’s 5-month old news portal, InterAksyon.com or to its direct link http://mmdatraffic.interaksyon.com.
The event was hosted by Paolo Bediones and Cherie Mercado.
Here’s the Press Release from TV5:
On August 1, TV5 and MMDA launch the easiest and most effective way to view the traffic situation in Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares—the Metro Manila Traffic Navigator. TV5’s five-month old online news portal, InterAksyon.com, powers up the site that can be accessed via www.interaksyon.com, or http://mmdatraffic.interaksyon.com/.
The Metro Manila Traffic Navigator is the country’s first ever digitized traffic information system that lets motorists and commuters view the traffic situation around the Metro in real-time over the Internet. Conceived in line with President Aquino’s call for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, the traffic navigator empowers people with information and technology and gives them an instant control — not just over traffic, but over their hours and lives.
The Traffic Navigator provides the public an instant overview of the traffic situation in the metropolis. People at home, in the office or on the road can check out the traffic along six major roads: EDSA, C5, Quezon Avenue, Espana, Roxas Boulevard and South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) via system view, line view or on Google Maps. The MMDA Metro Base updates the situation for no less than 67 intersections every 5 to 15 minutes.
At the Traffic Navigator’s media launch, TV5 also announced the future release of InterAksyon.com’s iPad and iPhone app, which will come bundled with easy, instant access to the Traffic Navigator.
Following the release of its public beta version last June 29, at least 6,000 drivers and commuters have been using the TV5-MMDA Traffic Navigator everyday.
Executed by the all-Filipino cutting-edge web design team, Stray Interactive, the Traffic Navigator’s information design is easy to understand and gives users access to the macro and detailed views of the traffic situation. Online users can also share the traffic situation via Twitter or Facebook with just a click of an icon.
Regardless of the operating system, the Traffic Navigator will run and is optimized for any PC-based or mobile browser. It will run on Wintel computers, Macs, Linux machines, iPhones, iPads, Android phones, Windows Mobile, Opera, and any web browser already installed on mobile gadgets.
Presented in a graphically logical and pleasing format, the Traffic Navigator represents the major roads similar to how subway routes are presented in New York, London and Tokyo; and reports the traffic situation in fast and very simple manner.
Moving forward, the Metro Manila Traffic Navigator will soon cater to other motorists’ concerns and will cover more roads in its monitoring. Other tools and features relevant to every Filipino on the road are already in the works.
To give you a run through of what happened that night, the opening remarks were given by Ms. Luchi Cruz Valdez, Head of News Affairs TV5. The overview of the system was discussed by Mr. Roby Alampay, InterAksyon.com Editor in Chief. The demo and the in depth explanation of the system were given by Mr. Carlo Ople, Head of Multimedia for TV5.
Here’s the screenshot of the MMDA Traffic Navigator:
After the demo, an open forum was conducted to grace the questions from the bloggers and media regarding the applications accuracy and future development.
The closing address was given by Atty. Francisco Tolentino, MMDA Chairman.
I was impressed with the application as well as the efforts that the government institutions such as MMDA are giving to be of service to the Filipinos. I myself is a bit disappointed with the Philippine’s system and these innovations certainly boosts Filipino pride. We might be a little late with other countries but surely we are leveling up and finding ways to improve in any way we can.
I hope that this application will be a success since future improvements are already in their plan. Congratulations to the team who helped make this traffic navigator possible.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid post. The comments and reactions are all from the author’s honest opinion based on actual experience.
Leave a Reply