MMDA, tweeting to the people

The next time you want to avoid traffic, fire a tweet to the MMDA. At the corner of EDSA and Orense St in Makati City, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA’s) central hub of monitoring and information is a determined bustle of humanity. It looks and sounds like a broadcast newsroom.

There are several LCD screens stacked on a wall relaying real-time CCTV footage from across the long stretch of EDSA and all major streets. The MMDA Twitter Team occupies two desks opposite these screens, sending advisories and responding to queries 24/7. Rush hour at headquarters It’s just after lunch and the team are in their zone unperturbed and generally chilled, despite the chaos of the Metro Base Headquarters. In a few hours they’ll be gearing up for the local version of hell that every densely populated urban center in the world is heir to: rush hour. Using a social media platform to alleviate Metro Manila traffic? Must be like fighting Godzilla with a pocketknife. Right? Not to the 52, 000-plus followers of the MMDA’s Twitter account. I got a reply from the @MMDA! I feel so giddy goes one tweet from a motorist on the way to Guadalupe. Thanks for the advisory @MMDA tweet team u guys r d best! goes another. The MMDA’s social media services team, since their launch in August 2010, has become a massively successful innovation for motorists and commuters to get updated on traffic and other incidents of importance on Metro Manila’s roads. 'The smarter approach' “I think right now really the MMDA is taking the smarter approach to things," exclaims Atty Yves Gonzalez, the chair of the Social Media Services division (he heads the Twitter, Facebook and Website Teams) and the man responsible for making these Web 2.0 tools an innovative force for government operations. Under the green light of MMDA’s Chairman (and former Tagaytay Mayor) Francis N. Tolentino, Atty Gonzalez and his teams have done great things. The Twitter Team was featured in GMA 7’s 10PM newscast on March 8 for exactly this reason. Before Atty Gonzalez came in the MMDA had a regular MIS department that maintained computers, internal network databases and tech support. That and the MMDA TV and radio that only aired on Destiny Cable on Channel 4. Both these media platforms needed a total of 50 employees to run, plus the rental of the channel airtime, equipment and electricity. “The Chairman felt [the TV and radio] were really bleeding money," explains Atty Gonzales, adding that they eventually closed down the MMDA radio and TV division. At 27 years old, Atty Gonzalez (who took up Philosophy at De la Salle University before earning a law degree from Ateneo) is enjoying his first job immensely. He also happens to be a software developer who learned how to write iOS apps while studying for the bar. He narrates, “[When I first got the offer to work for the MMDA] initially I was like `What?!’ But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Am the kind of guy who wants to fix things and make them better, even in the smallest way. I figured that being in the MMDA would allow me to do that." 'Sana may Twitter ang MMDA' It was in fact while he was taking the 2009 bar exams (Typhoon Ondoy was raging outside the bar site at Sheraton Hotel) that the idea struck Gonzalez. He says, “My thought then was: `sana may Twitter account ang MMDA.’" Having convinced MMDA’s Chairman of the vital use of social networking during floods and other crisis situations, he has since pushed for technology to be parlayed to the hilt. These include new CCTV cams installed along EDSA on Pioneer, White Plains, Nepa Q Mart and Tramo. Aside from inquiries about traffic status along particular routes, what the Team replies to most are questions about vehicular law and number coding questions. They are also currently undergoing scenario training on how to effectively field resources if and when floods, typhoons or even massive vehicular accidents arise. Channels of information “We can become a channel to not only get information out there but even coordinate rescue operations," he points out. “We saw the power of Twitter during Ondoy and that was back when there was no centralized push from government to utilize this social platform." He quickly adds, “There’s also the multiplier effect for retweets and going viral to mass media outlets from there. It’s exponentially more powerful." Right now the MMDA’s Web 2.0 tools consist of:

• WEBSITE: www.mmda.gov.ph The website and the Facebook account are mainly a feedback mechanism, for information coming in that the MMDA need to know about. These are complaints and letters and other correspondences. The website also contains the Twitter feed. This team also makes the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) lists. “Like, right now I recently asked them to make a `No Physical Contact’ FAQ," says Atty Gonzalez.
• FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/mmdaph “The FB account and website are under one team, they’re part of the communications group" says Atty Gonzalez. “They usually take care of e-mails or wall posts from the public and process it to the right departments." The website and FB account are effective judging from the positive letters tacked to the board on a wall. He laughs, “Dati kasi when you send an email to the government, good luck na lang sa’yo. Now we’re changing that. Kasi madalas makatanggap lang ng reply yung tao, that’s a big thing already."
• TWITTER: www.twitter.com/mmda Seven dedicated personnel send out and respond to tweets in a 24-hours shifting schedule, seven days a week. They’re housed at the Metro Base Headquarters, sitting beside the uniformed field people. The Twitter feed is used mainly for outgoing information and announcements like traffic, flood, accidents and updates on number coding.
• YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/MMDANews Where videos of MMDA related news and updates are posted.

Some of the upcoming digital services available from the MMDA will be:

• Live streaming access to the CCTV cameras
• A mobile App for iPads, tablet PCs, iPhones, Android phones, etc.

The MMDA App is expected to feature a real-time graphical map status of traffic for each stretch of EDSA and other major thoroughfares. Through the scroll interface you can choose to view only the northbound or southbound routes or both. Streets will be color-coded depending on lightness or heaviness of vehicular congestion and movement. At its core, the App is a traffic guide. “Eventually, developers like me can use the core data from that App," he further clarifies. "Imagine the applications for GPS manufacturers? If the GPS machine has traffic knowledge, even a general one, then it will tell you to avoid certain spots during rush hour and reroute you to a better way. And this will also give us solid metrics and statistics on how [MMDA has] improved traffic by removing this or that bus terminal." The App is currently in the closing stages of beta testing and development and will be released very soon. The best part of it? It will be available for download completely free. — TJD, GMA News