CHENNAI: Bus commuters in the state will soon be able to know the real-time position of State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) buses on the Chennai bus mobile app. The app developed by MTC in collaboration with Chalo, a transport technology company, was launched in May for providing details of MTC buses being operated in Chennai and suburban areas.
With a fleet capacity of 950 buses, SETC caters to 70,000 commuters a day. Except for major stoppages and bus stands, SETC has no time-keeper for the bus stops en route. For example, if a passenger enters ‘Alandur Metro bus stop’ on the app, it will display the list of buses passing through the stop in both directions with the details such as expected arrival time and next scheduled bus.
Similarly, when the commuters click the ‘search bus route’ option and enter the route number, all the buses which are operational get displayed. By clicking on the route, the user can view the exact location of buses running between two destinations, besides getting the expected time of arrival at a particular stop.
The SETC also started tracking the movement of buses operated from Madurai Mattuthavani bus stands, Tiruchy central bus stand and other major stands across the state through the app. The travellers can also send distress signals to their mobile contacts or police in case of emergency through the app.
At present, the app tracks the operation of 3,233 MTC buses fitted with a location-tracking device.
A senior official from SETC said, “We have started uploading the data of the SETC buses on the app. All the SETC buses that run within the state and outside too can be tracked through the app.”