In the past, attempts to get the city’s bus route map on an app failed because there was insufficient primary data. That situation, however, is well on its way to change. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has completed the process of collating geographic location-specific data for bus stops and route systems in the city. The next stage would be to create an easy-to-access passenger information system.
This is the first time an attempt has been made by the MTC to put real time bus movements in the palms of the commuters through an app. Private parties like Ridlr and Metrocommute ( www.metrocommute.in/ ) had attempted this project but had failed due to lack of data which was available only with MTC officials at that point.
P.W.C. Davidar, Additional Chief Secretary, Transport Department, said the geo-coding of 3,485 bus stops covering 700 routes of the MTC has been completed. Geo-coding is the process of converting addresses into geographic coordinates of latitude and longitude for a computerised codification process. It is the foundation for initiating the passenger information system by which passengers would be able to know when the next bus is due, he added.
Sai Ratna Chaitanya Gurugubelli, a Research Associate (Transport Systems) at the Institute for Transportation and Development (ITDP), said geo-coding of the bus stops will help MTC not only launch a passenger information system but also understand its network better. It can be used in an app, for instance, to help passengers search for the nearest bus stop and look for travel options from these locations through an app or a website. He said: “Using the geo-coded bus stops and routes along with ticketing data from electronic ticketing machines (ETMs), MTC can analyse its network and optimise its services efficiently.”
State-wide process
The State Transport Department, having completed the geo-coding of bus stops in the MTC, has directed the remaining seven State Transport Corporations (STCs) to expand the project and geo-code bus stops throughout the State.
Mr. Davidar said the State Transport Corporation Villupuram has completed the geo-coding of half of its 15,400 bus stops, with the remaining to be completed soon. Other STCs are also engaged in mapping of bus stops. “The only problem we have encountered is the overlapping of the names of bus stops for which meetings have been conducted to rectify the overlap and create a single, large common database. The entire geo-coding of bus stops throughout the State is expected to be completed within 60 days so as to start the codification process for using the database in applications and websites,” he said. The State Transport Department, after completing the geo-coding, plans to provide the database to private parties who are interested to create applications or already have apps for providing real time information on bus movements.
