Wait gets longer for intelligent transport system in BMTC buses

The Intelligent Transport System (ITS), which was to be installed in all BMTC buses by January, may be ready only by May or June. Trials are still under way on a number of buses and the data is being analysed.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) wants to instal the ITS in all its 6,500 buses so that the entire fleet has a single, electronic, seamless system that can be run on one platform.

A central control room at the BMTC office is monitoring buses under trial. Errors are being analysed and officials are dealing with issues in real time. The trial is meant to ensure efficiency in running the buses like keeping to the right time, stopping at the right bus stop, reaching in time, etc. Once these operations work flawlessly, the system will be installed in all buses, BMTC officials said.

The biggest problem faced by electronic systems is the unpredictability in the arrival of a bus, caused by Bengaluru’s notorious traffic. Sometimes the volume of traffic is so high that it slows down the bus speed to 4 km an hour. This delays the arrival of the bus and whatever an electronic board displays tends to be wrong.

The electronic system which tracks the bus every minute should be able to predict and display the time that is closest to the arrival time. The system records whatever happens in and around the bus. Besides ensuring real-time view of the bus, it helps drivers know the vehicle’s current and ideal speed.

There is also the issue of speeding by drivers, officials concede. There are frequent complaints about rash driving. During the ITS trial, a driver was identified and instructed to drive at regular speed. Passengers too were informed. Such straight talk to the driver soon after an incident is good because the error is rectified in almost real time and there won’t be space to divert attention from the issue at hand, officials said.  What is ITS?

Under the ITS, a BMTC bus will run with electronic systems linked to a control room to monitor its running. The ITS has a Vehicle Monitoring Unit right behind the driver, a Global Positioning System (GPS), a camera and an Electronic Ticketing Machine to help conductors avoid entering trip sheets, which is time-consuming. The electronic system will increase the efficiency of the buses and their staff to keep to time. The first two machines will monitor the bus in terms of speed, the time taken to reach a bus stop, the nature of driving by the driver — as per norms or rash. The machines provide information to the electronic boards in different bus stops. The control room at the BMTC headquarters can watch live the bus movement and the driver’s behaviour.