After a three-year gap, the BMTC app will once again be available to commuters who can track buses and also pay for tickets.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has been struggling since June 2019 to track its buses and generate tickets. Many bus-tracking systems malfunctioned, while electronic ticket machines supplied by Trimax IT Infrastructure and Services Limited broke down.
The BMTC has 6,500 buses of which only 563 have GPS devices. In 2020, the corporation had planned to revamp the IT infrastructure using the Nirbhaya fund.
Although Manipal Technologies was awarded the project to install GPS, cameras, and alarm (SOS) buttons, the Covid-19 pandemic stalled it. BMTC’s Director of IT Surya Sen said installing GPS devices began last July.
“The project was hit by a global shortage of semiconductor chips,” Sen said, adding that 400 buses have now been fitted with GPS devices. “By August end, we would have installed GPS in 5,000 buses,” he said, revealing that the remaining buses are old and must be scrapped.
The app will display the arrival and departure information of buses with a maximum error margin of 20 metres. The corporation is planning to open up the tracking data to integrate BMTC services with other transport modes.
Upgraded app
The improved BMTC app, to be launched in August, having been tested for bugs already, will have the option to track buses, besides the SOS button. It will also have a fare payment system with the facility to buy passes.
“Beta testing of the application is done, and user acceptance trials are underway. Issues related to last-moment tracking and accuracy issues are currently being sorted,” Sen explained.
The tracking system will help the BMTC identify over-speeding vehicles, arbitrary detours, severe application of brakes, and buses skipping designated stops.
Alerts to cops, corporation command centre
The SOS feature in the new app will directly alert the police and send a message to the BMTC, which will have three minutes to respond.
Besides the SOS feature in the app, buses will also have a physical SOS button.
If a passenger presses the SOS button, alerts will go to the police, the BMTC command centre, and a trusted contact of the passenger.
“The control room will first respond to understand the nature of the emergency and dispatch people immediately,” said an official. “The BMTC will dispatch a Sarathi vehicle and try to establish contact with the driver. Meanwhile, we will look at the live bus feed.”
The BMTC has set up a command centre. “The necessary camera footage and other data will be shared with the police as part of the Nirbhaya Scheme,’ the official added.