Research investigates how crowdsourcing, digital co-production and collaborative governance can modernize local public transport services

11 Jun 2024

UP Diliman

The SafeTravelPH Public Transport Crowdsourcing App, which was designed as part of a bigger research, is a platform that actively engages the government, transport industry providers, and passengers in sharing transformative information to improve public transport. It has four base features, namely, 1) post and see road and traffic incidents, 2) monitor nearby public transport vehicles, their estimated travel time, and their occupancies in real-time, 3) record trip data for use, and 4) rate the quality of public transport. Originating as a platform for motorists to anticipate the checkpoints in Metro Manila during the March 2020 lockdown, the SafeTravelPH app has been developed as part of the efforts of the University of the Philippines UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team,  spearheaded by the UP Resilience Institute.

Massive reforms to the Philippines’ public transport system were rolled out by the Department of Transportation  through the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. It is worth noting that this effort to modernize the country’s public transport has been long in coming since the imposition of a moratorium on the issuance of new franchises in 2003. The moratorium was issued due to the need to rationalize the route structure and number of operating units. Through this landmark program, the national government embarked on a very ambitious target to modify the entire sector and modernize the road-based public transport vehicle fleet in the entire country. It seeks to revamp the practices, policies, business models and cultural meanings of the existing public transport system in the country. The research explored the potential of crowdsourcing, digital co-production and collaborative governance in the context of modernizing local public transport services.

Authors: Noriel Christopher C. Tiglao (National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines Diliman), and Anne Clarice L. Ng, Mark Angelo Y. Tacderas and Niki Jon Y. Tolentino (SafeTravelPH Mobility Innovations Organization Inc., Open Source Geospatial Laboratory, National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2023.101328

Research investigates how crowdsourcing, digital co-production and collaborative governance can modernize local public transport services

The SafeTravelPH Public Transport Crowdsourcing App, which was designed as part of a bigger research, is a platform that actively engages the government, transport industry providers, and passengers in sharing transformative information to improve public transport. It has four base features, namely, 1) post and see road and traffic incidents, 2) monitor nearby public transport vehicles, their estimated travel time, and their occupancies in real-time, 3) record trip data for use, and 4) rate the quality of public transport. Originating as a platform for motorists to anticipate the checkpoints in Metro Manila during the March 2020 lockdown, the SafeTravelPH app has been developed as part of the efforts of the University of the Philippines UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team,  spearheaded by the UP Resilience Institute.

Massive reforms to the Philippines’ public transport system were rolled out by the Department of Transportation  through the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. It is worth noting that this effort to modernize the country’s public transport has been long in coming since the imposition of a moratorium on the issuance of new franchises in 2003. The moratorium was issued due to the need to rationalize the route structure and number of operating units. Through this landmark program, the national government embarked on a very ambitious target to modify the entire sector and modernize the road-based public transport vehicle fleet in the entire country. It seeks to revamp the practices, policies, business models and cultural meanings of the existing public transport system in the country. The research explored the potential of crowdsourcing, digital co-production and collaborative governance in the context of modernizing local public transport services.

Authors: Noriel Christopher C. Tiglao (National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines Diliman), and Anne Clarice L. Ng, Mark Angelo Y. Tacderas and Niki Jon Y. Tolentino (SafeTravelPH Mobility Innovations Organization Inc., Open Source Geospatial Laboratory, National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2023.101328