GPS road trip app tells the stories of Saskatchewan

The creator of a new GPS driving tour app hopes users will learn something about Saskatchewan they may never have heard before.

It’s called Tripvia, created by Moose Jaw’s Greg Donkers. When you drive past certain landmarks, towns or points of interest on a road trip, the app triggers a short audio clip using your phone’s GPS and technology called geo-fencing.

For example, if you’re driving by a lake, the app will trigger a story about the history of the lake, how it was named, if there is a trail around the lake or information about animals found nearby.

The goal is to provide a fun, family-friendly, educational experience with a multiple-choice trivia question at the end of each audio file.

“It’s just a fun way to get people engaged in the area that they’re travelling through,” said Donkers.

The demos made available after downloading the app give examples of interesting stories you may hear, like a man in Tompkins who predicts the weather using raw pig spleens or the war hero goat in Broadview that saved three lives.

The app has been available for about six months. It has a total of five tours in Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C. and Ontario. Since Donkers lives in Moose Jaw, he first released the two Saskatchewan tours along the Trans-Canada Highway, one from Moose Jaw to the Alberta border, the other heading east from Moose Jaw to Manitoba.

While there may not appear to be many visible points of interest while driving across Saskatchewan, Donkers said each trip contains about 65 audio clips which are roughly two minutes long.

“If you’re just driving past a field or something and there’s nothing there, we have lots of topics based on general Saskatchewan knowledge,” said Donkers.

He came up with the idea based on other similar driving tour apps which often require a day of commitment, following specific routes. Donkers decided to take a popular highway most people are already driving on, like the Trans-Canada, and make it more casual by adding the trivia aspect.

“You’re going to drive somewhere. You have a destination in mind. You’re going to take the fastest way. So I’m just giving you something to do while you’re getting there,” said Donkers.

The app is hands-free and doesn’t require any input from the driver once the trip begins. The audio clips will play automatically. Users can also download the file through their Wi-Fi at home before leaving to save on data. The app does have an interactive map available if a passenger wants to play along and look ahead at the upcoming trivia questions.

You can find more information about Tripvia here.