BMTC plans passenger kiosks at bus stations

City bus travellers will soon get real time data on bus routes, frequency, etc, at bus stations without much hassle.

If all goes according to the plans of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), ‘Passenger Information Kiosks,’ will be set up at major bus stations and Traffic Transit Management Centres (TTMCs), where all the data pertaining to the buses and travel in the City will be made available to the users.

C G Anand, Chief Mechanical Engineer (Production and Transport Planning), BMTC, said the kiosks would be touch screen in nature. To start with, the machines will be installed at the Kempegowda Bus Station in Majestic, Shivajinagar Bus Station and at 10 TTMCs. “We have already called for tenders in this regard and each kiosk is likely to cost Rs four lakh to Rs five lakh,” he said.

Passengers, currently, are dependent on inquiry officers at the bus stations. However, their numbers are small and they have to discharge other duties as well. The idea behind kiosks is to reduce human intervention and provide a technological solution for public in accessing information they need. The facility will be similar to the system of kiosks installed in some of the malls in the City, Anand added.

Another BMTC officer said the kiosks would have two kinds of data, namely dynamic and static. Dynamic data refers to information on availability of buses at a given point of time, the routes they are headed towards, their frequency, etc. Passengers can browse such information either by giving the area name or route name.

Static data gives basic information about travelling in the City, must visits etc, keeping in view those who are new to Bangalore. There will be language options too at the kiosks, he added.

Replying to a question on when the kiosks will be installed, the official said a related committee would soon hold a meeting and the first set of kiosks would be out within two months.

Depending on the passengers’ response and usage, the facility will be expanded to other bus stations, he added.