Apps that help you plan your commute better
Posted on: 18/Aug/2015 10:51:16 AM
Three engineers from Chennai have created an app that will help commuters make their journey faster by keeping traffic situations up to date. The app, called `Raft`, has been created by three students from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. The 25 year olds gave up their jobs and spent their time developing the app which was launched in December. It has 1,20,000 downloads till now.
Raft also lists bus routes. It covers 6500 stops and 1500 routes across Chennai city, all the way to Kanchipuram. Their team, which comprises of 15 people, also included Metro routes.
Say the developers, 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... Google maps only (has) 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 There is no mapping of bus stops, buses or timings and some routes are even outdated.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?... (We) 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.
Another app called Traffline also has traffic updates. This app was developed by Mumbai based developers in 2012. Their services are spread across Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai. Tramline is available on iOS and Android.
Say the Mumbaikars, 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... 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.
