Although Manila’s public transport system isn’t as neat as Singapore’s or as advanced as Seoul’s, there’s no reason for you to not try the jeepneys, the buses or the metro train in the city hassle-free!
Just a few weeks ago, the winners of the Transit App Challenge were announced. The competition was organized by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), in cooperation with Metro Manila Development Authority and the Cebu City government. The hackathon aims to find the best app which could improve commuter’s travelling experience when using the public transport in Manila.
Participants are tasked to create apps that will utilize two sources of Open Data:
a) Regularly updated geographic location and service information for all bus, jeepney, and rail routes in Metro Manila
b) Live traffic incident data streams in Manila and Cebu.
The winners of the contest are the following:
Trip Barker, Best Transit App
It is a community-based Trip Planner for Mass Transit Systems. Users can report and share weather, traffic, and events in real-time with other users.
Manila Train Guide, Inclusive Technology Award
It is a basic trip planner built around Google maps that allows the user to plan trips in Metro Manila using either trains, jeepneys or buses.
It is a web application that offers a route planning tool for commuters and a route editor for city planners and contributors.
Sakay.ph is a web-service (with integrated SMS features) that provides transit directions for jeepneys, buses, and trains in Metro Manila.
RKLAMO, which in English means complaint, is a web and mobile app that gets the passenger’s feedback on his/her jeepney ride experience.
So next time you’re in Manila, don’t forget to equip your phones with any of these apps.