Grab’s OpenTraffic Initiative wins the silver Anvil under the PR Programs category of the 52nd Anvil Awards. Given by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, the Anvil Award is considered the most prestigious award in public relations in the Philippines and is presented only if the high standards set by a distinguished multi-sectoral jury are met.

The anvil award recognizes Grab’s strong collaboration with the Philippine government and the World Bank for OpenTraffic, which was officially launched in the Philippines last April 2016.

Grab is the first ride-hailing company in the world to share, at no cost, its anonymized and aggregated driver GPS data to governments through the World Bank’s OpenTraffic platform. The platform provides real time traffic statistics that governments can use to guide policy decisions. The Philippine government has already used OpenTraffic to analyze peak traffic hours along EDSA and adjust traffic signal timings in Cebu City to ease congestion. It is a low-cost but powerful tool for government agencies struggling with limited resources and scarce data.

“The smart use of big data allows the government to make real-time decisions on traffic and infrastructure and evaluate root causes of congestion. This Anvil is a testament to Grab’s commitment to work closely with the government and the general public to ensure safe and reliable transport options for everyone,” Grab Philippine Country Head Brian Cu said.

As part of Grab’s continuing efforts to collaborate with governments and the general public, OpenTraffic is one of the main data sets featured in the Department of Transportation’s Road Safety Idea Hack. The Idea Hack welcomes Filipinos from diverse backgrounds, whether in app development, digital media, social science, or data analysis, and everyone else who are interested to share their ideas and skills to help improve the country’s road safety situation. The Road Safety Idea Hack was officially launched today and winners will be announced on March 18 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Ortigas.

Grab’s OpenTraffic Initiative also won last December 2016 the Gold Standard Award for Public-Private Partnerships awarded by Public Affairs Asia.

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