Grab, MDEC and World Bank are working together to launch the OpenTraffic initiative in Malaysia. The platform will provide traffic data from Grab’s GPS data streams to address traffic congestion and improve road safety in major Malaysian cities.

OpenTraffic is provided at no cost to governments and allows traffic management agencies and city planners with access to an open dataset to better manage traffic flow and make investment decisions on the transport infrastructure.

The OpenTraffic Platform will translate and anonymise the data taken from Grab, to map traffic speeds on roads for analysing traffic congestion peak patterns and travel times. Local government agencies can use that data to optimise traffic light control and coordination. The data can also help ease city congestion during peak hour traffic, as well as help reduce carbon emission, while helping commuters save time.

Malaysia will be the second country to gain access to the OpenTraffic platform. First launched and implemented in the Phillippines, the country has since made enhancements through improved traffic signal times in Cebu city without needing any additional infrastructure investment. The initiative has helped lower transport cost for commuters and improve quality of travel time along Manila’s EDSA, the most congested corridor in Philippines.

Along with the partnership with World Bank, Grab is invited to participate in the Open Transport Partnership (OTP), a global initiative for building the foundation for next generation of public-private data partnerships. The partnership will ensure the responsible use of private sector big data for public good. OTP supports mutually beneficial collaboration on data-driven urban mobility policies and service programs and develops the guidance and tools to enable these partnerships.