By Uwin Lugoda Smart city is a concept that has been trending worldwide, revolutionising the way we live our lives. With smart transportation services to greener buildings, smart cities are becoming the next step towards a technology-driven world. Smart cities are best explained as a system of data collection, using different types of internet of things (IoT) sensors to manage a city’s assets and resources efficiently. This includes data collected from citizens, devices, and transportation systems among many more. Cities such as New York City, Manchester, and Dublin have already incorporated this concept to their day-to-day activities, and Sri Lanka has recently made its bid to join this elite collective. The National telecommunication provider Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) made its first move towards a smart Sri Lanka on 11 June with the launch of “National Digital Roadmap”, and marked a milestone in the country’s digital journey. The project stands on 16 pillars that represent areas such as smart government, smart security, smart health, and smart transportation and mobility. The Digital Roadmap was reinforced by the launch of the app “SLT muve” on 18 June, which fell under the roadmap’s pillar of smart transportation and mobility. It is best described as an on-demand digital platform that meets real-time transport requirements. This app offers a new ride-sharing service that is economical, safe, and reliable to passengers while maintaining a mutually beneficial partnership with the driver partners. This app was made to combat the ongoing problem that is the rise in vehicle population in the country, with it being an estimated 7.2 million according to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Motor Vehicle Industry Report in 2017. This 7.2 million was a 7% increase from 2016, and 80% of this population were privately owned vehicles. This increase in vehicles gave way to a host of new problems, with the main two being the amount of money loss due to traffic congestions and the lives lost due to air pollution, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated to be around 4,300 a year in Sri Lanka. The app is also set to be the first ride-sharing app in Sri Lanka to be data-free to both drivers and riders, with Mobitel conections. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Muve Co-founder and CEO Malraj Balapitiya stated that apart from several new features that will be a part of the app, the trust and backing provided by the SLT brand is what truly sets Muve apart from its existing competitors. “I think the main thing we have is trust. While there are a lot of apps in the market, none of them are backed by one of Sri Lanka’s most reputed corporates. We also have a very good user base with a lot of positive comments on the app store.” The app is set to work on any smart phone, making it easily accessible to any driver partners looking to partner with Muve. It also does not charge the drivers any registration fees and gives them a wide range of categories to be a part of. These categories start with POP (budget), which is the smallest and cheapest, followed by BIZ (mid-range), LUX (luxury range), and finally, MAX (vans). According to Balapitiya, the app also looks to rectify issues in the industry, with regard to fairness, reliability, quality, and value for money. To ensure that, the app will have strong privacy protocols, the drivers will be well-trained, a 24-hour support centre for both the riders and drivers will be available, clean and safe vehicles will be used, and the ability for riders to share their transport itinerary with friends or family will be enabled. Rider safety is further cemented by the extensive vetting the driver partners go through when joining. Riders also get a surge free experience, with Muve’s rates being consistent throughout the day. Speaking about the immense positive response the app has had, Balapitiya stated that even before the lunch on 18 June, the app has had over 5,000 downloads on the Google play store by driver partners and riders alike. “We believe there is a gap in the market for a high quality, safe, and cost-effective mode of transport. The focus will be on greater Colombo initially, and then we will expand our services to other high demand areas. Being a trusted company for 160 years, we are truly committed to treating our driver partners with care and aim to raise their living standards. We are confident about our drivers’ job security. We actively follow a zero-tolerance discrimination policy. A unique feature of our app will be a transparent driver commission structure. Also, continuous driver training and driver loyalty programmes are unique to our business. For riders, we offer an improved car condition policy, and we consider rider safety one of our fundamental responsibilities. To build loyalty, we must maintain trust in the brand over a long period of time,” said Balapitiya.