Info kiosks, TTMCs underutilised

The passenger information kiosks and Traffic Transit Management Centres (TTMCs) at bus terminals across the City, set up by the BMTC to help passengers, are not being used by many.

Narayanaswamy, BMTC’s Traffic Inspector for Shivajinagar, said that though around 60,000 to 70,000 commuters are seen at the bus terminal daily, not more than 100 people use the kiosk.

Staff stationed at the enquiry counter at the Shivajinagar bus terminal maintain that they get more than 1,000 queries a day regarding bus timings, routes etc, despite the information kiosk being installed right beside the counter.

At the Shivajinagar bus stand, there were two kiosks, but one is not functional due to a UPS problem.

“The users are mainly young working professionals and students. The kiosk has an interactive touch screen through which passengers can get information related to bus routes, timings, frequency of buses, bus passes, tender notifications by BMTC, information on AC buses and other facilities. The information is available in English and Kannada,” a BMTC staff said.

At the Kempegowda bus terminal, the situation seems slightly better.

The staff at the enquiry counter said that around 6.5 lakh commuters use the terminal to reach their respective destinations every day and more than 100 commuters use the two kiosks at the terminal.

When this reporter visited the Kempegowda terminal, it was found that out of the two kiosks, one was dysfunctional as there was no Internet connection.

Raghu Kumar, a frequent commuter, said that while the facility was good, first-time users, especially the uneducated, may find it difficult to use the technology.

“It will be good if steps are taken by BMTC to deploy personnel to guide people at each of the bus stops,” he added.

Staff at the Shantinagar TTMC pointed out that due to the increased frequency of buses, not more than 70 passengers use the kiosk.

Transport Minister and KSRTC Chairman Ramalinga Reddy told Deccan Herald that he is aware that not many passengers are using the facility.

“We will explore the possibility of reaching out to more number of people by publicising through radio,” the minister added.