BENGALURU: Bengaluru Traffic Police have booked cases against nearly 50,000 motorists after citizens reported more than 75,000 violations through Public Eye App since its launch in September 2015.
Statistics from NGO Janaagraha, which initiated the app, shows that more than 54,000 people have downloaded the app and 47,108 of them posted violations through it so far.
Among the violations booked by traffic police based on Public Eye App, riding without helmet (16,432) topped the list. Public Eye App helps citizens post violations by errant motorists.
However, traffic police did not book cases against 26,199 of the 75,696 violations reported by the citizens through the app because of various reasons, including lack of clarity of the registration number of vehicle or violation.
K Venkatesh of Janaagraha said, “We from Janaagraha are happy to work with the Bengaluru Traffic Police for the Public Eye App, and it is a success story in the Civic Tech sphere on how the government and non-profits could work together, use technology and bring services closer to the people.
If you see the quality of the usage and the citizen engagement with the mobile app, it is overwhelming and should be an eye-opener for other government agencies and departments to think out-of-the box in delivery of services. Public Eye shows that all government service apps need not be boring.”
Many motorists said the Public Eye App is a good idea. “It’s an effective medium to report traffic violations through it. Technology is rightly used to connect citizens with traffic police to report violations. For instance, most places have no CCTV’s or adequate traffic policemen to book offenders. It is also easy to track the status of the complaint through App” said Raj Kumar, a commuter who reported several violations through Public Eye App.
Bengaluru Traffic Police, who are facing severe shortage of staff, are now increasingly dependent on CCTV’s, Public Eye App, Facebook and Twitter to book offenders.
When contacted, Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic) R Hithendra said, “Citizens wants to report many violations. Public Eye App gives them an online platform without having the hassle of going to any office”.
In New Delhi, traffic police offers incentives to citizens who reports traffic violations through App. But Bengaluru Police have no such plans as of now.