Hello Waze Team,

I would like to share an idea with you regarding the potential use of your navigation software within the railway sector. As you may guess, I work for the Bulgarian State Railways (BDŽ), but unfortunately I am not in a position that would allow me to influence the management to reach out to you directly. As you probably know, in state administration and state-owned companies, most decisions are not made based on market principles or rational assessment.

For this reason, among many others, the management and traffic safety in recent times have significantly deteriorated. The numerous incidents over the past year are a clear indication of this. As a result, the Ministry of Transport and Communications is currently introducing additional measures aimed at improving safety. Some of these measures were intended to be short-term and should already have produced results. Generally speaking, they involve tightening discipline among train crews and traffic dispatchers. As someone working inside the system, I can say that the effect will not be substantial, and after some time things will return to the previous state due to numerous unresolved issues and the severely demotivated staff at all levels.

Railway safety systems are extremely expensive. In Bulgaria we still have not implemented modern solutions such as ERTMS/ETCS, which is one of the reasons why train speeds are limited to 130 km/h, despite the infrastructure being built for higher speeds.

While it may be difficult to influence the international systems in place, I believe that with the right approach it might be possible to explore whether there is interest in introducing—at least as a short-term internal measure—a Waze-based application adapted for railway transport. Such a system could serve as an alternative, easy-to-implement, user-friendly and more cost-effective option providing an additional layer of safety. As a global company with extensive experience, I am confident that you would be able to find the right approach to promote and adapt such an application in a way that would be applicable and beneficial for BDŽ.

If you believe that my idea could have potential and can be further developed, I would be glad to hear from you. I am ready to assist in any way I can.

With sincere respect,
Raden Bakov
Phone & Viber: +359 89 430 0563