A smart phone user downloads the Essential Connector – a smartphone application for commuters. The app has been approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)  for commuters in New York, the US. — Photo courtesy Axon Active Việt Nam

ĐÀ NẴNG — The Essential Connector – a smartphone application for commuters – that has been jointly developed by Vietnamese and Swiss information technology engineers has been approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for public transport users in New York from May 2020.

Lê Khắc Thọ, a member of the Axon Active Việt Nam company said the app, which was developed by IT engineers from the Axon Active Việt Nam working in Đà Nẵng, aims to help commuters search for trips, times and routes on their smartphone.

He said Essential Connector also helps passengers find other routes in case of delays.

He said the app had beaten software solutions from other companies to win approval by the MTA.

According to Axon Active Việt Nam 4,000 users in New York had downloaded the Essential Connector in one week.

According to the Đà Nẵng Software Association, the city’s software export turnover was US$89 million in 2019.

Đà Nẵng has two centralised information technology (CIT) zones approved by the Prime Minister in 2017-19.

The city has been developing the Đà Nẵng IT Park as central Việt Nam’s ‘Silicon Valley’.

Đà Nẵng was the first city in Việt Nam to launch the e-Government system – a crucial step in building a smart city – and offering free wireless internet (wifi) services for local residents and tourists at major centres and streets in the city. — VNS