At the recently concluded Mobile Web West Africa event in Lagos, Nigeria, a challenge was given to build mobile web apps at a competition. The top prize went to an innovation by Sheriff Shittu O. (who also runs WebTrendsNigeria) for his app that gives users real time information on the traffic conditions within Lagos.

Speaking at the launch of traffic.com.ng, Sheriff Shittu O. the innovator of the product said “Our goal is to use technology to solve a social problem! We’ve seen how mobile phones for instance have transformed the Nigerian economic landscape, so we thought further on other common problems that can effectively be fixed with everyday technology. We believe it will help improve productivity and uplift the state.”

Traffic.com.ng is a complete solution using Web, Mobile Web, SMS and mobile application to aggregate and broadcast the traffic situation across Nigeria, initially focusing on Lagos State, with ambitions to expand to other parts of the country. It currently covers over 150 roads in Lagos.

How it works

The solution was developed with everyday road users in Lagos state in mind. It enables people who do not have internet access to report or request traffic information in any given area of the state.

To Report Traffic

Text sms with Keyword “Traffic” to 07026702053

Example: Traffic status ojota slow

or

Traffic status ojota to ketu slow

To Request Traffic

Text sms with Keyword “Traffic” to 07026702053

Example: Traffic report ojota

or

Traffic report ojota to ketu

For those with internet enabled phones, they can simply access the site through the address: www.traffic.com.ng it will automatically detect that they are browsing on mobile device and present a mobile version of the website. The web version allows users to view traffic information from the comfort of their PC.

Traffic requests are absolutely free!

To check out it works kindly visit: www.traffic.com.ng