Rappler AI-powered public consultation helps craft car-free Tomas Morato Avenue ordinance

MANILA, Philippines – The over 200 people who participated in a public consultation facilitated by Rappler and the Quezon City government think the government should ensure traffic and accessibility concerns are addressed in the plan to close off iconic Tomas Morato Avenue on Sundays.

The participants, mostly residents living around Tomas Morato, also mostly agreed with declaring only a portion of the avenue car-free, instead of the whole stretch. A majority prefer the city government implement the car-free rule at a shorter period of time, in the morning and then again in the afternoon, rather than the entire day as initially suggested by officials.

These insights, gathered by Rappler through its app and artificial intelligence (AI) platform, helped Quezon City Councilor Irene Belmonte in finalizing her proposed ordinance on Tomas Morato car-free Sundays.

The ordinance was passed on second reading during a session of the Quezon City Council on Monday, September 16, a few days before World Car-Free Day on September 22.

After some revisions in format, it will have to be signed by Vice Mayor Gian Sotto, and then by Mayor Joy Belmonte to become an ordinance.

The city government is already planning a dry run or pilot of the car-free initiative, to take place on September 22, Councilor Belmonte told Rappler.

It will be from 6 am to 10 am, and only the stretch from the Scout Rallos intersection to the Boy Scout Circle will be car-free.

A total of 245 users were logged on to the artificial intelligence platform used by Rappler to gather public sentiment, collate, and analyze them. Of these, around 233 participated through the assisted virtual sessions conducted along Tomas Morato Avenue.

The artificial intelligence platform, called aiDialogue, asked all participants five questions formulated by Rappler and Councilor Belmonte’s office, based on previous public consultations on the proposal.

The AI chatbot on the platform, called Rai, would then ask a follow-up question to all participants, based on their answers to the five questions.

Make a comprehensive traffic management plan, alternative routes for vehicles, and road signage or blockage.

At the end of the session,