JIITA, vol. 2, no. 2, pp.76-83 Jun, 2018
DOI: DOI: 10.22664/ISITA.2018.2.2.76
A Mobile Application for Transportation Management and Trip Planning in Rural Sarawak, Malaysia.
Vong Wan-Tze *, Mohamad Yuzrie bin Khalid, Valliapan Raman, Patrick Hang Hui Then
Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Malaysia
Abstract: Many rural areas in Sarawak, Malaysia, have limited public transportation systems and poor road networks. Rural residents rely heavily on their own transport and informal transport services such as shared van for their mobility needs. Besides, many rural villages are characterized by limited employment opportunities, causing rural youth to increasingly migrate to cities. There is a lack of a one-stop digital platform to facilitate the connection between rural and urban communities, and to promote the creation of socio-economic values for rural communities. A mobile application is proposed in this article with the intention to: (1) improve the accessibility of information for transportation services and trip planning in rural areas; and (2) empower rural residents to become self-employed transportation service providers of their communities. The ultimate goals of the application are to increase the accessibility of information for transportation and travel-related services in rural areas and to create good-paying employment opportunities for rural workers. A digital inclusion strategy is presented in this article, along with a description of the design and development of the mobile application.
Keyword: digital platform; rural area; socio-economic; transportation; tourism
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