Two latest traffic apps are making commuting much more manageable
The team behind Raft
Right from providing real-time updates, changed bus and train routes, diversions and alternative routes to avoid congestion, and accidents, apps are now acting as valuable informants for commuters to plan their day without any hassles, or more importantly, fewer delays.
These apps incorporate existing Google maps data with ground information like number of bus stops, train stations, number of buses or trains plying within a time frame, and information about diversions, if any. Chennai’s very own indigenous app ‘Raft’ features among these popular apps. Three civil engineering graduates from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras — Siddharth Krishnaswamy, Akhilesh Koppineni and Krishna Chaitanya, gave up their fat corporate pay-cheques at the age of 25 and came together to develop something meaningful. Launched in December 2015, the app has already racked up over 1,20,000 downloads.
“This idea started off as an academic project when we were in college. We had a subject on traffic patterns and the three of us were really passionate about it. We registered with the incubation cell and hence the dream became reality,” explained Siddharth Krishnaswamy, co-founder (product development), Raft.
The Raft team covers 6,500 stops and 1,500 routes across Chennai. The app even lists bus routes that go to Kancheepuram. Akhilesh Koppineni, another co-founder of the app explained Google maps only have 30-40 per cent information. “There is no mapping of bus stops, buses or timings and some routes are even outdated. We wanted to create an app that would provide the right information and help manage travel time. You don’t want to be stuck in a traffic jam on your interview day, do you?” he said.
Their team now has 15 full time people, and they have now looped in the Chennai Metro routes as well on the app. Krishna Chaitanya, Co-founder (technical team) developed the algorithm forming the base of the app, in-house. “Currently, we have it on Android. Soon, we will be developing it for iOS and Windows as well. We get a lot of feedback from people and we keep updating those changes,” he said.
Another app with user generated real-time updates that come from Chennaiites themselves, is the Traffline. Developed by Mumbai-based Ravi Khemani and Brijraj Vajhani in 2012, the app and the online services are spread across Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai. “We were working in the USA for over 10 years and one gets all this information easily there. But, when we returned to India, we wanted to bring that same concept here. Going one notch higher, we provide updates not just on the app, but also via text messages, emails and a call centre number. We are also active on Twitter and Facebook,” informed Ravi Khemani, Founder, Traffline. They are spread across 12 cities, and have more than 1,00,000 downloads across iOS and Android.
“Initially we started off as a website and then slowly as it picked pace, people started tweeting. We have a team on the ground full-time getting updates. We were surprised at the immense response from the public,” added Ravi Khemani.
Citizens also are happy, as the apps cut down the time wasted in a traffic jam. Ram Babu, a motion graphics artist said, “You wouldn’t want to be stuck in a traffic jam at the end of a long working day. One glance at the app, it is easy to find an alternative route to reach home quick.”
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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