OyaGo: Asking for Bus Directions in Lagos, Where No Map Knows the Routes

OyaGo is a new web application designed to navigate the complex, informal public transport system of Lagos, Nigeria. Unlike traditional map services that focus on driving, OyaGo provides bus-by-bus directions in plain English or Nigerian Pidgin, mimicking the way locals share transit knowledge. Built as a React PWA with a FastAPI backend, the app utilizes RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) via the Backboard platform to ground its responses in verified route documents. By leveraging Google's open-weight Gemma model, OyaGo ensures that directions are accurate, landmark-based, and culturally relevant. The project emphasizes community-driven data, allowing users to contribute routes to improve the system. The developer highlights the importance of open-source AI in creating accessible, cost-effective tools for regions where standard mapping services fail to capture the nuances of local transit, with future plans to implement offline capabilities and expand to other cities with similar informal transport infrastructures.