The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), however, has not only been working on ensuring a systematic and rational traffic system in Metro Manila, but also on an information system that somehow lessens travel stress for motorists and commuters.
Previously, the MMDA used the Hotline 136 and the MMDA Radyo TV to provide traffic information to the public. However, these two systems had their limitations in terms of reach and required maintenance.
Upon the assumption of lawyer Francis Tolentino as MMDA chairman under the Aquino administration, the MMDA introduced social networking as a tool in monitoring traffic and providing updates on the situation in the metropolis during typhoons.
The MMDA is now accessible through its official Twitter account @MMDA. This move is in step with the growing popularity of social networking sites as more and more individuals access the Web through mobile Internet devices such as feature phones, smartphones and tablets.
“The MMDA is aware of the role of mobile communication in helping the motoring public navigate the different thoroughfares in Metro Manila,” says lawyer Yves Randolph Gonzalez, supervising consultant of MMDA’s traffic discipline office and head of the communications group.
For its Twitter services, the MMDA uses PLDT’s Internet service and Smart Bro wireless broadband service for reliable connection.
“Chairman Tolentino thought that going into Twitter would be the right decision for the MMDA. He is right because Twitter is more effective since it reaches a broader audience which means it has a bigger multiplier effect unlike the other platforms,” adds Gonzalez who also heads MMDA’s Twitter team.
The Twitter team is composed of seven young members working on a 24 x 7 shift. Two persons are assigned each in the morning and night shifts, while three man the afternoon shift.
The MMDA’s Twitter team started to work round the clock last December when followers grew bigger and bigger. At present, the MMDA Twitter site has more than 98,000 followers. It is the most popular government Twitter account.
According to Gonzalez, those who regularly check their Twitter account via their mobile phones find the MMDA tweets valuable since they get real-time traffic updates.
The MMDA “has been tweeting relentlessly and effectively,” says blogsite newmediaphilippines.
The effectiveness of the Twitter account was proven when typhoon “Falcon” recently hit the country. Through its Twitter account, the MMDA was able to inform commuters of the flood situation in different parts of Metro Manila.
Notes blogger notoffline: “@MMDA has utilized the power of social networking, mainly via Twitter, to help citizens find the best way possible around the metro. They normally tweet back whenever you ask the condition of certain roads and even suggest the best possible routes and roads you could take. In times like this wherein the storm named Falcon is shedding so much in the metro, Ondoy style, the MMDA does not fail to keep us all updated of the condition of the roads.”
Although his Twitter team has a herculean job, Gonzalez says they get immense satisfaction from being able to help people on the road with real-time traffic updates, route recommendations, and advisories on traffic jams, car crashes, spills or accidents.
Also, smartphone-powered citizens are now contributing to MMDA’s Twitter traffic services by serving as correspondents on-site.
These users voluntarily tweet the MMDA on the current traffic situations and even road flooding or accident right where they are, allowing the MMDA to alert and warn their other followers based on the information given to them.
Gonzalez says their Twitter account also enables the MMDA to save on scarce resources. The agency only spends around P800,000 a year for the maintenance of the team, a far cry from the millions of pesos it spent using the Radyo TV platform.
“Through the Twitter team, the MMDA is doing one awesome work of providing people with updates of the traffic situations in Metro Manila. We need all the support we can get from people from all sectors to enable us to succeed in this endeavor,” says Gonzalez.
