The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway or Naia-X, the extension of the Skyway to the airport terminals, Cavitex and Entertainment City, should go all the way to Bonifacio Global City in Taguig to maximize its potential for faster travel, according to transportation service provider Uber.
Using anonymized data culled from thousands of trips, months before and after Naia-X was opened in June, Uber said Naia-X shortened the average travel time in and around areas it serves, even for those who did not take the new elevated expressway.
Uber is making available its data to the Public Works Department to help guide the government on its infrastructure programs.
“DPWH Secretary Mark Villar has embraced technology and Uber, through the online tool we call Movement, would like to be of help in every way we can,” said Uber general manager Laurence Cua.
“Movement uses the power of big data to help government officials and planners really understand the impact to travel times of the infrastructure projects and programs they roll out,” he said.
Cua said Movement could help government planners determine improvements in travel times once the BGC-Ortigas Center link, the proposed bridge between Binondo and Intramuros or once the Stage 3 of the Skyway were completed.
An analysis of existing data before and after the June opening of Naia-X showed that average travel times to and from the airports, from various starting points like Pasig, Rockwell and Makati, eased by a few minutes on average, even if at-grade trips were included in the computations.
“So if the Naia-X BGC extension is built, travel on the skyway system from the moment a vehicle enters Naia-X in Entertainment City or Naia, for instance, it should be in BGC in around 20 minutes, down by half from the current average of 40 minutes,” Cua said.