BAGUIO CITY(PIA)–Baguio City advances solutions to address traffic-related issues which affects productivity and overall mobility in the city.
The local government unit of Baguio City in partnership with Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) convened sectoral groups and media representatives at the Crown Legacy Hotel on February 20, 2025 to discuss the proposed Smart Urban Mobility (SUM) project.
This was aimed to provide a comprehensive discussion, and to provide information and break misconceptions about the project.
The SUM Project
The Smart Urban Mobility (SUM) Project is an initiative proposed by the MPTC to solve the traffic problem and improve the quality of the transportation system.
With the highly noticeable traffic jams especially during peak seasons, the SUM project offers a solution to reduce traffic, fuel costs, and air pollution and provide convenience through transportation and traffic management systems development.
The project envisions to have a shorter and less traveling time for commuters and convenient practice of loading and unloading to the drivers through a holistic localized system of public transportation.
This will be implemented with a vision to provide efficient, reliable, and predictable intervention reducing private vehicles and instead focus on developing the public transportation as the main priority.
SUM Application and Station
The MPTC designed the SUM app to make urban transportation efficient, reliable, and predictable for commuters by incorporating AI systems that provide real-time information, track transportation arrivals, detect vehicle incidents, and monitor available routes.
Also, the system is connected to different parking spaces to observe illegal parking and check available parking spaces.
MPTC Collaborates with Singapore Technologies
The Vice President and Deputy Head of Singapore Technologies (ST), Leong Him Cheong, introduced Singapore’s transportation management and explained how they solved congestion through the Open Road Management System.
This system applied congestion charging, which became a significantly beneficial practice in 1975, later on adapting changes in the utilization of technology intervention.
From this perspective, the project proponents re-envisioned this idea and localized this system to the “Baguio Smart Urban Mobility Project,” a holistic approach to solve congestion and provide overall mobility through “Mobility Fee Charging” aligning to the issues of Baguio City.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong is looking forward to the success of the project.
“Kapag naging maayos, ang kikitain ay babalik sa community in a way that the revenue will be used to modernize our public transportation. This will significantly improve our community,” he said.
Through the continuous support of its collaborating partners within and between communities and fields, the SUM project further encapsulates achieving a better public transportation management system by improving Baguio’s mobility and quality of life. (JDP/CVBT with Carolyn B. Ventura & Aryan Joy M. Soliman-PIA CAR-DMMMSU Interns)
