BENGALURU: After successfully using Blackberry phones to book traffic offenders for seven years, Bengaluru Traffic Police has now decided to bid them goodbye. The decline in the sales of the phones and lack of availability of spare parts for the ones in use are reasons for the change.
From June 2016, the city police will be provided with Android-based Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Authorities believe that the Blackberrys are too cumbersome, as they require a separate device to print receipts for fines.
Speaking to Bengaluru Express, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem said, “The PDA consists of a printer and a debit or credit card reader, so that fines can be imposed on the spot. Blackberrys did not have a feature for cashless transactions. PDAs are also expected to ensure operational ease for the personnel.
A device to input the security code of the cards -- the kind that is in use at various sales establishments -- will also be part the set.
Noting that Bengaluru Traffic Police are number one in the country
in terms of traffic management, he said that introducing PDAs will further ensure transparency in levying fines on traffic offenders. The devices are being introduced as the contract with Blackberry for providing phones for the department is set to end in January 2016.
The devices
Currently, there are 612 Blackberrys with wireless printers in the city limits, being used by traffic inspectors and sub-inspectors. According to a study by National Institute of Smart Government, introducing Blackberrys had resulted in an increase in collection of spot fines. The devices were first introduced in Bengaluru in 2008 and subsequently expanded to police personnel across the state in 2012.