GPS Vehicle-tracking System in RTC Buses from July 14
HYDERABAD: RTC buses in both Andhra and Telangana will soon have GPS-GPRS based Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) soon.
The trial run for the new VTS were conducted and now the ground is being readied for installing the VTS in 3,500 buses including 1,500 JNNURM buses.
“Most probably the buses will be fitted with VTS by July 14 and the system will be operational,’’ RV Jayanth, chief engineer (IT Division) said here on Saturday.
GPS-GPRS technology-based VTS will not only keep track of the vehicle movement, but will also help in accident detection and reporting, apart from helping the traffic controllers and managers at different bus stations to ensure effective management of arrival and departure of buses.
Controllers at the headquarters and bus stations now will be able to track whether the bus was travelling within the prescribed speed limits, whether it made unauthorised stops or skipped some stops, or whether there were any problems with the bus like mechanical failure etc.
On the other hand, passengers will have real time information about the movement of buses and will have estimated time of arrival (ETA) of the respective bus at respective place and accordingly they can plan their travelling. ETA would also be made available to commuters through Internet, SMS and RTC’s call centre.
Speaking to Express, Jayanth said that pilot run of the buses fitted with the VTS device were held since September last.
“In all we have used 100 buses for the pilot run. Of the total 100 buses, 44 were city buses and the remaining 56 were the ones being operated on Hyderabad-Karimnagar route. The outcome was satisfactory. There were some minor technical glitches, which are now being ironed out and by July 14, the system should be operational,’’ he explained.
According to him, VTS will track where and when the bus moved or stopped, calculate the speed and the distance and arrive at ETA, which in turn will be displayed on the electronic display boards in buses and at bus stations.
Earlier, APSRTC used to have tachographs installed in buses to keep track of the speed and movement of the vehicle. Now as part of the modernisation, the latest GPS-GPRS technology is being adopted by the RTC to be in tune with changing times and needs of the society.