VIJAYAWADA: Frustrating waits at the busstop may soon be a thing of past if the smart systems that are all set to be rolled out by the APSRTC in the city yield the desired results.
To start with, commuters will be provided with live information about the running of a city bus and its expected arrival time at a busstop by installing LED display boards.
This will be followed by introduction of an SMS facility to give instant messages on request to passengers informing them about the expected arrival time of a city bus at a particular busstop.
Named as ‘Vehicle tracking and passenger information system (VTPIS)’, the soon-to-be launched facility will track the movement of buses from point to point with the help of the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
As many as 213 city buses will be provided with this technology under the centrally-funded JNNURM scheme. The system, including the equipment and the display screen, will cost `1 lakh for each bus shelter. The project will be maintained by the Computer Maintenance Corporation (CMC) Limited.
Nearly 15 bus shelters in and around the city, including those at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS), the Railway Station, KR Market, Benz Circle and Ibrahimpatnam will get this facility initially. Already, the work has started at four bus shelters.
“Besides being passenger-friendly, the VTPI System will also enforce discipline and punctuality among the drivers as their activities would be constantly monitored through the cameras fitted in all the 213 buses,” says deputy chief traffic manager of APSRTC, Vijayawada, G Nagendra Prasad. This, indirectly, improves the safety of the passengers too, he adds.
The geographical positional coordinates (latitude and longitude) are captured by the VTPIS. “It will help the authorities to track the location of vehicles and maintain punctuality. The officials will also be in a position to quickly arrange alternative vehicles in case of a breakdown or any other trouble to a bus as they keep monitoring it on the digital screen at the main control unit on the PNBS premises,” says G Sudesh Kumar, APSRTC regional manager.