MMDA in the Philippines to monitor bus drivers with biometrics

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will implement a biometric system to monitor bus drivers and improve the dispatch system.

“Our aim is to instill discipline among PUB drivers and make them aware that we are the MMDA, together with other agencies, are capable of monitoring them, especially their driving behavior,” MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said.

According to the MMDA, this system is the first bus reduction program in the Philippines that utilizes fingerprint scanning to identity and monitor drivers. Besides monitoring drivers on the road, this system will also allow the MMDA dispatch to ensure that only those with less than three pending traffic violations are given routes to drive.

Under the new system, drivers are required to scan their fingerprints at the dispatch terminals, as the MMDA has created a database of biometric records to verify the identity of drivers in the system. A total of 3,471 city buses operated by 105 different firms have registered in the database, which is also linked with other agencies such as Land Transportation Office, Land Transfer Franchising Regulatory Board and the National Bureau of Investigation.

A similar biometric workforce management system has been developed in Delhi to ensure the safety of public transit passengers, which tracks airport taxi and bus drivers and other auto operators. Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, the program is a part of a larger verification drive that assures drivers are who they say they are.

The Philippines has increasingly been deploying biometric systems. Recently, the Philippine Senate passed a measure mandating the biometric registration of voters in the country.

Likewise, a biometric system has been launched in the Philippines which aims to authenticate cash grant beneficiaries of the government’s cash grant program.

Article Topics

biometric database  |  biometric monitoring  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint scanner  |  government purchasing  |  law enforcement  |  secure identification  |  workforce management