Singapore-based ride hailing app Grab signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Friday to reducing pollution and traffic congestion in Phnom Penh.

Under the deal, both parties agreed to explore working together to reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by promoting clean energy vehicles and bio-fuel, as well as supporting the collection and analysis of traffic data and statistics.

“We believe this partnership with the UNDP will help us to further our ambition to make Southeast Asian cities cleaner and more live able through improved traffic management,” said Wee Tang Yee, country head of Grab Cambodia.

Improving life in CambodiaWith over 2.4 million driving-partners across the Southeast Asian region, Grab’s app for its drivers produces real-time GPS data which anonymously tracks the positions of vehicles and smartphones, turning them into detailed traffic statistics.

That data can in turn be used in various ways to help ease traffic jams by optimising traffic routes, analysing travel times, determining traffic patterns and designing better road infrastructure.

Nick Beresford, country director of UNDP Cambodia, said that the partnership with Grab is a major step to apply ride-hailing, app-derived data and technology to solve urban pollution and traffic problems.

“We are excited about this and look forward to working together with Grab to improve sustainability and the quality of lives for Cambodian people,” he said.