With the combined efforts of several government agencies and other transportation mobile apps, ABS-CBN formally opened its newest app promoting passenger safety and security in the country to the public.
According to ABS-CBN chief Donald Lim, this app will definitely help the public instead of solely reporting incidents.
The launch also indicated the convergence formed by taxi booking app Grab Taxi and carpooling app Tripid developers, ABS-CBN Digital Media Division and ABS-CBN News, together with government agencies Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Coursed through the partnership, DOTC, LTFRB and LTO are expected to inform the public about the app as well, and provide first hand information to its stakeholders such as bus franchise owners and taxi operators regarding its core benefits. PasaHero could also help the said government agencies in collecting relevant information through a feature that will be soon added to the app.
“This is a good first step towards achieving better modes of transportation. Our priority is always safety, and our mandate is to ensure that passengers can travel safely without fear of criminality and accidents. It’s initiatives from the private sector like the PasaHero app that help us push forward in achieving our goals,” said DOTC spokesperson Atty. Michael Sagal.
On that note, LTFRB chairman Atty. Winston Ginez stated that passenger safety in all kinds of land transportation is their primary concern. He stressed that the additional feature will enable these government agencies to be more involved and active.
PasaHero has LTO executive director Atty. Emilio Bantog Jr.’s full support since this will greatly help them in their endeavors; as the LTO is also trying to come up with its own application for citizens to report simple violations.
Its corporate partners, Grab Taxi and Tripid, are expected to help in disseminating information through educational campaigns.
The pact promoting passenger safety and security yesterday (Feb 3) was attended by ABS-CBN Digital Media Division head Donald Lim, ABS-CBN News Digital Media head Anna Rodriguez, DOTC spokesperson Atty. Michael Sagal, LTO spokesperson Jason Salvador, LTO executive director Atty. Emilio Bantog Jr., LTFRB chairman Atty. Winston Ginez, Tripid president John Michael Ngo Dee, and Grab Taxi VP for marketing Natasha Dawn Bautista.
Since its conception in November 2013, the PasaHero app developed by ABS-CBN’s Digital Media Division and powered by ABS-CBNnews.com, reached almost 25,000 downloads on iOs and Android devices.
PasaHero lets its users to document, and broadcast their entire trip via social media and SMS and notify at least 5 emergency contacts in the event of danger encountered on the road. To activate the feature, the users can press the app’s “Panic” button to activate their phone’s video camera to record audio and video files for at least 5 minutes. It will also send details of their exact location to their customized emergency list.