A transportation app that began as a college project in Thailand has officially entered the Philippines, bringing real-time transit tracking to Megaworld townships.
ViaBus, developed by Thailand-based Via Group, allows commuters to track shuttle buses in real time, view estimated arrival times, and access route information through a mobile app.
The service initially covers seven Citylink shuttle routes serving Newport City in Pasay and McKinley Hill, McKinley West, and Uptown Bonifacio in Taguig, with plans to expand to Eastwood City, Southwoods City, and Boracay Newcoast.
“I’m also a traveler for public transportation and transportation around. So, we see a potential in expanding to Thailand and Bangkok first. Then after that, we see a potential in various countries across the region to improve mobility,” Intouch Marsvongpragorn, CEO and co-founder of the Via Group, told the media during the launch.
The Philippines is ViaBus’ fourth international market after expanding beyond Thailand, following Malaysia and Laos.
Marsvongpragorn said the company worked closely with local partner RekaWeek to tailor the platform for Filipino commuters by standardizing place names, improving transport information, and making the app more accessible to users of different ages and backgrounds.
Multilingual support was also added to accommodate foreign visitors.
Thanatseth Howattanapan, co-founder of Via Group, said the company adopted a universal design philosophy to make the application intuitive for commuters of all ages.
While younger users may be more comfortable navigating through the app’s map interface, older passengers can instead rely on prominently displayed estimated arrival times.
Howattanapan also said ViaBus runs on a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) system developed well before today’s generative AI boom.
Rather than exposing AI features directly to users, the technology works behind the scenes to generate real-time arrival predictions, adjust routes, and improve the accuracy of transportation information.
The backend platform likewise helps transport operators monitor vehicle movements and identify operational issues.
ViaBus currently serves around 10 million users in Thailand, providing real-time information for buses, boats, and rail systems. The platform is also used by hospitals, factories, property developers, and other organizations to manage employee transportation.
Megaworld said the partnership forms part of its smart township strategy, combining AI-powered transit information with its growing fleet of electric Citylink shuttle buses to promote more sustainable mobility across its developments.
