IN AN effort to promote transparency and accountability within transport systems across the country, the Ateneo signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on March 29 regarding an open data initiative created by computer science majors.

The said initiative entailed the creation of Open Transport, an information platform about the different public utility vehicles, transportation routes and schedules, locations of railway stations, air and seaports, and other transport terminals.

All relevant information to be processed and displayed in the said information platform will be provided by the DOTC.

Open Transport forms part of the thesis project of computer science seniors Hadrian Ang, Leona Lao, Miguel Palma, Vermille Saw, and Kyle See.

In the signing of the memorandum, DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya lauded the efforts of the students and thanked the Ateneo for “casting the rod and offering the bait.”

“We’re hungry to get hooked with the academe. Thank you for opening this window for all of us. We look forward to providing more opportunities like this that build the skills and knowledge of our youth,” Abaya said.

Vice President for the Loyola Schools John Paul Vergara, PhD, who was the team’s thesis adviser, added that more data is still being added to the platform so as to cover more information and make it more user-friendly.

“It’s an ongoing project and we’re hoping that it can sustain itself and get more students involved,” Vergara said.

Full disclosure

In an interview with The GUIDON, Ang explained that the Open Transport Project is a DOTC effort in cooperation with Ateneo “to open up and become more transparent.”

He said that the project entails making certain data sets available and accessible for the general public, such as global positioning system coordinates of different sea and air ports in the country.

Additionally, Ang explained that Open Transport also allows the disclosure of financial details of public works and infrastructure projects to the public.

“By making data available [to the general public], [the DOTC hopes] to get spur on the creation of more transportation-related applications and more data analyses that can help in policy formation,” Ang said.

Under construction

The Open Transport Project, which is accessible at www. opendata.ateneo.edu, is currently in its early stages and will be formally launched upon full completion.

According to the said website, the online portal “consolidates the datasets of the DOTC and its attached agencies, allowing users to find specific information from a rich and continuously growing collection of public datasets on air, maritime, rail and road infrastructure projects.”

Ang explained that the Open Transport is constructed using Ruby on Rails, a specific kind of programming language, and uses data which are provided by the DOTC and then processed for display on the website. An administrator portal also allows DOTC personnel to modify the data.

Furthermore, he said that the team is looking forward to add more enhanced features to the online portal soon, such as a crowdsourcing portal which will easily facilitate the outsourcing of more port photos and other relevant information from the users.

“We hope to also integrate schedule information from various airlines so that it will also become a travel tool,” Ang added.

Currently, the target audience of the portal are developers and statisticians, but the team is considering the prospect of making it consumer-oriented, such that it becomes useful not only among data set analysts but also among tourists and everyday commuters.

Achieving a collective goal

According to an earlier story published on the Ateneo website, University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ expressed in the memorandum signing how the Ateneo’s partnership with the DOTC is relevant and necessary, especially in the present context where “connections are difficult to make.”

With the creation of an online platform that will benefit a great majority of people, Villarin is impressed “that there is now another bridge which he hopes will last beyond a lifetime, regardless of the political bearing.”

“I hope we keep in mind there are larger goals—the goal of connecting our people together and connecting them to the world. I don’t think we can be an island for so long,” he added.

Ang, on the other hand, lauded the DOTC for being “helpful in guiding the project” and providing all the necessary data they need.

“They take initiative when it comes to thinking up new features and they continue to help us by modifying the data and keeping it updated,” he added.