BMTC to display real-time data on buses at stations

City commuters who end up waiting in bus stops with no clue about bus arrivals have some good news. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has taken steps to provide realtime information on bus timings at major bus and all metro stations.

Called the Passenger Information System, data on route numbers and arrivals will be beamed on 55-inch display panels. Given traffic congestion in the city and arbitrary cancellation of buses, the real-time information will help commuters know exactly how long their wait would be.

Although BMTC’s mobile application has a feature through which buses on a particular route can be tracked, it is not a hit with commuters. There are also complaints that the mobile application does not map all of BMTC’s 6,500 buses. The transport utility claims that all buses have GPS devices.


TRACKING METRO FEEDERS
Besides providing information on the arrival of buses at the Traffic Transit Management Centres and major bus stations such as Yelahanka, Kadugodi, Vidyaranyapura and Nandini Layout, the digital boards at metro stations would help commuters track shuttle services.

“This will help commuters to decide whether they should wait for the bus instead of taking an auto rickshaw or cab. Each station will be provided with two boards,” a BMTC official told ET.

The transport utility operates about 150 shuttle services from and to different metro stations, making over 2,000 trips a day.

BMTC MD V Ponnuraj said the facility would be extended to all the 6,000-odd roadside bus shelters if the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) gives the necessary permissions. “The BBMP owns the bus shelters and we have written to them seeking permission,” he said.

The transport utility, Ponnuraj said, has worked out a formula where the service provider will not only instal display boards but also share revenue with the BMTC. “A part of the board will have information on bus timings and the contractor can display advertisements on the remaining portion. The boards will be connected to the Intelligent Transport System, which gets real-time data on all buses,” he added.

BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad said the municipal administration would give permission to BMTC’s proposal to instal digital boards at all bus stations. “The project is citizen-friendly. We will approve it,” he said.