Wikipedia

Sakay.ph

Sakay.ph is a Philippine web mapping service and mobile app that provides public transport route planning and navigation within Metro Manila and its surrounding areas. The platform uses a combination of official government transport data and crowdsourced route information to provide directions for various modes of public transport in the Philippines, including jeepneys, buses, rail systems, and ferries.

Sakay.ph
A screenshot of the Sakay.ph trip planner suggesting routes between Rizal Park and Bonifacio High Street.
Screenshot of Sakay.ph in a web browser
Type of site
Web mapping
Trip planner
Available inEnglish
Country of originPhilippines
OwnerSakay Mobility Philippines Corporation
Created byBy Implication (now Bonito Tech)[1][2]
URLsakay.ph
AdvertisingYes
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2013; 13 years ago (2013)
Current statusActive
Content license
Proprietary

History

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Sakay.ph was developed as a side project by Philip Cheang and Thomas Dy of the software company By Implication.[3] It originated as an entry to the Philippine Transit App Challenge, a three-month hackathon held in 2013 organized by the Department of Transportation and Communications, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and the Cebu City government. The hackathon was designed to stimulate the development of navigation tools using the Philippine Transit Information Service, an AusAID-funded and World Bank-supported initiative that developed the first comprehensive General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) dataset for Metro Manila, covering more than 900 public transport routes.[4][5]

The project was among ten finalists selected from 17 entries and received the Open Community Award.[6][7] Following the competition, Sakay.ph experienced increased usage, with developer-reported figures approximating 25,000 visits being made to its website in July 2013 and around 320,000 total requests between October 2013 and June 2014.[5]

In February 2015, Sakay.ph was relaunched with support for mobile devices.[1][3]

In 2016, Sakay.ph launched Traincheck, a feature that estimated passenger congestion along the MRT Line 3 using predictive models trained on live public CCTV feeds provided by the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The feature showed crowd level estimates to help commuters avoid peak congestion periods by identifying less crowded travel times.[8] It was later discontinued when public access to the MRT-3 CCTV feed was shut down.

In 2018, Sakay.ph reported that it had reached one million users since its launch.[9]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sakay.ph partnered with the Pasig city government and the Department of Transportation to provide route information and live tracking for free shuttles for health workers and frontliners.[10][11] The platform also partnered with the operator of the LRT Line 1, the Light Rail Manila Corporation, to integrate multimodal transit directions into "ikotMNL", a companion app for LRT-1 that provides train and tourist information.[12]

In 2022, Sakay.ph received a Gold Award in the Systems & Service Design category of the Philippine Good Design Award.[13][14]

In 2023, Sakay.ph partnered with the Quezon City government to provide navigation and real-time tracking for buses under the Quezon City Bus Service (QCity Bus).[15]

Availability

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Sakay.ph is available through its website and as a mobile app on both iOS and Android devices. The iOS version is compatible with devices running iOS 12.1 or later (including iPadOS 12.1 or later),[16] while the Android version is compatible with devices running Android 7.0 and above.[17] As of May 2026, the Android version of Sakay.ph has been downloaded over 500,000 times.[16]

References

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  1. 1 2 "Sakay.ph - Portfolio - By Implication". By Implication. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Sakay - Bonito Tech". Bonito Tech. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Francisco, Katerina (March 8, 2015). "Sakay.ph: Making Metro Manila navigable". Rappler. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Lessen traffic woes, join the app challenge". Rappler. July 1, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Mikulski, Joanna (October 13, 2014). "The New Cartographers". Next City. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  6. ↑ "DOTC concludes successful PHL transit app challenge". Official Gazette (Philippines). October 15, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Magdirila, Phoebe (October 15, 2013). "5 cool apps to help you find your way in Philippines". Tech in Asia. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  8. ↑ Montenegro, Khristine (November 27, 2016). "Sakay.ph's new app shows MRT congestion levels". Rappler. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  9. ↑ Valdez, Denise (June 19, 2018). "New features added to Sakay.ph mobile application". BusinessWorld. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Frontliners can now view all free transport routes via the Sakay.ph app". Top Gear Philippines. April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  11. ↑ Barreiro, Victor (May 18, 2020). "Sakay.ph now has GPS tracking for some public transport in Pasig". Rappler. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  12. ↑ "LRMC's ikotMNL app now with contact tracing feature and Sakay.ph navigation". Light Rail Manila Corporation. July 31, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ Design Center of the Philippines (January 12, 2026). Gold Standard! One of the most inspiring winners of the Good Design Award Philippines is Sakay.ph, Gold Award recipient under the Systems & Service Design category in 2022 (Video). Retrieved May 18, 2026 – via Facebook.
  14. ↑ "Sakay.ph - The Best Commute Directions in Metro Manila". Good Design Award. 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  15. ↑ "QCity Bus partners with Sakay.ph for better commuting". Quezon City Government. March 29, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Sakay.ph - NCR Commute Map - Apps on Google Play". Google Play. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Sakay.ph - NCR Commute Map - Apps on Google Play". App Store. Retrieved May 18, 2026.

Further reading

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