Local software start-up company Galileo Software Services Inc. has presented to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) a mobile application that will enhance the safety of commuters while riding public utility vehicles (PUVs).
The integrated mobile application device, called Safe Ride, reduces the risks of riding public transportation vehicles regulated by the LTFRB.
It tracks the location of the user with add-on features to take photos of the taxi unit (vehicle, plate number and driver) that is automatically sent to Galileo?s database server.
An added feature of the application is a pre-installed ?Red Button? which serves as an emergency notification solution that enables the user to send an emergency message to a pre-set secondary/emergency number.
By pressing the onscreen red button on the user?s Safe Ride-compatible mobile telephone, the user can transmit an ?SOS? signal to Galileo?s call center.
All the data (i.e., photographs, geo-location and other information) sent by the user using the application will be recorded by Galileo which will then be transmitted to LTFRB?s contact centers for processing and appropriate action.
?We want to empower the riding public and other individuals that commute using public transport with an integrated mobile security application that they can use to record important information they can pass to their loved ones to prevent them from worrying, while they are on the road,? Galileo president Jun Lozada said.
LTFRB and Galileo are currently working on a reporting system to adequately respond to emergency messages sent through Safe Ride. This includes establishing necessary contact center facilities and/or agents with communication lines to the Philippine National Police (PNP), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), local hospitals, and/or other appropriate emergency response and law enforcement agencies.
Galileo will also be providing guidelines for the use and upkeep of Safe Ride to ensure its reliable performance, including technical support/help desk hotline to ensure the effective use of the application.
?Safe Ride is a good mobile tool to protect commuters from bad elements of the society; we are pleased to collaborate with Galileo in promoting its use which is in line with the Board?s mission of ensuring the safety and convenient of the riding public,? LTFRB chairman Winston Ginez said.
Galileo Software Services is also the same software company that recently partnered with several telecom companies to donate 30 tablets to PNP/CHPG with Police Accident Report Kit (PARAK) an application that helps patrol units swiftly clear vehicular road accidents along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).
It also has developed an anti-theft application called Theft Application Recovery Application (TARA) that helps address and abet the rampant phone theft in the country. Once installed and activated to any type of smartphone, can render inoperable the essential features, as defined, of the smartphone to an unauthorized user when the smartphone is lost.
Lozada, prominently known as the ZTE-NBN whistleblower, said the Safe Ride project will not cost LTFRB and other government agencies any amount.
