Cebu government to crowdsource traffic data gathering via MiCab
Taxi-hailing app MiCab has partnered with Cebu City government to contribute data. Will new technology help solve cities’ traffic problems after all?
Taxi-hailing apps apparently do so much more than enable commuters to find a ride with the convenience of their smartphones. With MiCab, a recently-launched taxi-hailing app in Cebu City, Philippines, the platform will also be used to help improve the traffic situation in the city.
タクシー配車アプリMiCabはセブ市政と連携して交通データの提供を行っている。この新技術は市の交通問題解決への一助となり得るのだろうか。
タクシー配車アプリの役割は、通勤者がスマートフォンを利用して簡単にタクシーに乗車できる利便性を提供することにとどまらない。先だって発表されたフィリピン、セブ市のタクシー配車アプリMiCabは、市の交通状況改善を補助する役割をも担っている。
The Cebu City government’s Traffic Operations Management (Citom) has recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the founders of MiCab to use the platform to “gather a much better quality of data that will be translated into traffic engineering initiatives,” said the agency’s executive director, Rafael Yap, in a media conference.
While MiCab will not directly improve the traffic situation in the city, the data gathered through the taxis’ trips around the city will contribute to the government’s planning initiatives.
Citom aims to equip 500 smartphones with its data-gathering system through a project funded by a technical grant from bilateral and multilateral funding sources, including the USAID, Korean ICT and the World Bank. Data will be incorporated in cebutraffic.org, which enables citizens to track the traffic situation around the metropolis, aiding in their route planning.
Citom will sponsor 300 units of MiCab’s smartphone packages, and will provide these free of charge to participating taxi operators. Currently, MiCab provides smartphones with data connectivity to taxi operators at PhP 30 (about US$ 0.75) per day. Citom says its subsidy will be at no cost to government, as it will be shouldered by the grant proceeds.
In the media conference, MiCab says it has already partnered with two malls and a BPO firm in metro Cebu, which will offer “MiCab zones” designed as pick up areas for MiCab users. Apart from the fact that MiCab charges customers only PhP 5 (about US$ 0.12) on top of the fare, the app will also work even when there is no data connection. The app’s Android variant will transmit and receive relevant information through SMS.
At present, MiCab already runs on 60 of Ken Taxi company’s fleet of 200 cabs, although the startup is planing to fast-track its expansion into other cities, such as Metro Manila and Davao, through franchising, reports Bobby Suson, co-founder and CEO of Nextix, Inc., which has provided seed funding to MiCab earlier this year.
MiCab is a free download for Android devices. iOS and Windows Phone variants are in the works.
MiCabはアンドロイド端末用の無料アプリである。iOS及びWindows Phone向けのアプリも現在開発中である。
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