Traffic Navigator named IT product of ’11

Launch of Metro Manila Traffic Navigator. PHOTO FROM MMDA.GOV.PH

MANILA, Philippines—For giving frustrated motorists their best weapon against heavy traffic, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Traffic Navigator (Tnav) was named “Information Technology (IT) Product of the Year” at the annual CyberPress IT Awards.

The TNAV, which was conceptualized and developed jointly with InterAksyon.com, the online news and public affairs arm of broadcast network TV5, bested other nominees such as the Apple iPad 2, Epson’s new Ink Tank Printers, Smart Communications’ Net Phone and “Ultrabooks” powered by Intel chipsets.

“The Tnav has quickly become an indispensable tool for motorists, saving thousands of man-hours, preventing wasted fuel and empowering our constituents with valuable information that they use to beat traffic,” said MMDA traffic discipline director Yves Gonzales.

The Tnav, which users can access on several online platforms, shows real-time visual representation of the traffic situation at major thoroughfares in Metro Manila.

Traffic data is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Main roads monitored by the service are EDSA, C5, Roxas Boulevard, Aurora Boulevard, Quezon Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, España, Ortigas Avenue, Marcos Highway and South Luzon Expressway.

The service uses data culled from the MMDA’s monitoring operations. The free service can be accessed online at mmdatraffic.interaksyon.com. Mobile applications are also available for Android OS and Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad users.

MMDA showed that as of Saturday, the Apple iOS application had been downloaded 73,752 times since it was launched on September 17. The Android OS application had 9,587 downloads to its name less than a month after it was launched on November 24.

Gonzales, a professional application developer before joining the MMDA, said the agency and partner InterAksyon.com planned to introduce more features to the Tnav next year.