NEW DELHI: Amid the rise in crimes against women across the country, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced to add safety features including CCTV cameras, panic buttons and GPS based Automatic Vehicle Location System across the 5,500 buses plying on the roads of the national capital. “All new cluster buses are equipped with CCTV cameras, panic buttons and GPS. This will enhance the safety of woman commuters in Delhi and enable to set up an app-based live bus info system”, CM Arvind Kejriwal said.
“We have been trying to complete the tendering process in this regard for quite some time. Under this project CCTVs, panic buttons (10 each in every bus) and GPS based Automatic Vehicle Location System will be installed in nearly 5500 DTC and cluster buses in Delhi. If anyone presses the panic button, the control room will be alerted immediately and help will be rendered,” he said.
The additional new bus fleet of 4,000 that the AAP government has promised to add to the limping public transport system of the city will include these safety features. A total of 329 standard floor buses have been flagged off by the chief minister so far.
"There will be a central command room to control and monitor the entire system. There are two major advantages to this project. First, CCTV cameras and panic buttons will help to prevent security threats and enhance women’s safety in buses. Secondly, commuters will get the location and expected time of arrival of the buses on a mobile app powered by GPS based Automatic Vehicle Location System. Earlier, it was difficult for the commuters to know the schedule of the buses," the Chief Minister said.
The government is planning to launch these facilities on 100 buses by the end of December. It will take six months to complete the project in all 5,500 buses. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 150 crore. “Once the entire system is put in place, information on buses — location, time of arrival — will be displayed on bus stops across the city,” the chief minister added.