The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has tapped PLDT Inc. and Vectras Inc. to deploy vehicle tracking solutions that will give frontline workers live updates on bus schedules and movements within Metro Manila.
The DOTr said this will ensure that health-care workers will be able to track the exact locations of the free shuttle services to the hospitals and institutions through the mobile app sakay.ph and locator links on the social-media page of the transport department.
“Frontliners need all the help they can get now more than ever. This solution from the DOTr can really give our health workers the convenience to help them travel to their respective hospitals and attend to their patients,” said Smart President Alfredo S. Panlilio.
Currently, there are 80 bus units plying 20 routes that go through 19 hospitals. All of these have been deployed with tracker devices.
Recently, the transport department said it aims to deploy more than 150 buses in Metro Manila to serve health-care workers.
Panlilio said this partnership allowed the local transport sector to adopt Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to provide commuters with a more efficient riding experience.
“This project is a great boost to our health workers and frontliners, as it allows them to easily monitor the location of their shuttle services, as well as its estimated time of arrival. With this, they will be able to efficiently plan their trips to and from the hospitals. These are only little things that we can offer to them, compared to the huge help and sacrifice that they offer to our country. They are our modern heroes,” DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said.