Mobile in Manila? The MMDA is your best friend.

The Metro Manila Development Authority recently launched a new service in collaboration with Interaksyon of TV 5 which gives you which gives you comprehensive and accurate updates of the traffic conditions on six major thoroughfares in Metro Manila. You can access the service by pointing your browser to this link: Metro Manila Traffic Navigator.

You can view traffic updates for the six major thoroughfares by the system, or through a list or overlayed on Google Maps. Select the particular road you want to get information on.

The default view, which will take a few minutes to get used to, but once you do you will realize it is an amazingly simple and clever way to get an comprehensive update of the entire traffic situation in Metro Manila. I really just only use the system view. The web page is light, and works well from the browser of a mobile phone. The person who designed it was a genius.

Complementing this service is the MMDA's Twitter service. @MMDAtweets provides you real time information on the traffic, flooding and color coding status in the City. The most amazing part is @MMDAtweets answers your questions and their response time is in my experience under two minutes. Amazing. Two of my service providers (who I pay service fees to monthly) respond in hours, days or never (yup sometimes I never get an answer). This is not the case with @MMDAtweets. All I can say is hats off to you. Best public service and customer service in the web as far as I am concerned.

It is not just online where the MMDA is looking good. The MMDA will be imposing a 60 kilometer per hour speed limit on Macapaga Avenue. In advance of the imposition of the speed limit, they put up clear and legible signs. So many signs that if you do not see at least one of them you must be blind. Well done.

In these times when there are some questions as to whether there has been change with the new government, the MMDA has definitely stepped up. It has always been one of the more prominent agencies, because like what they do or not, the MMDA had a reputation for being a hard worker. The MMDA today is even better. I always had a high regard for this agency, and I am now even more impressed.

All I can say is well done MMDA, and thanks TV5.