Bus services to be streamlined using digital technology

Vehicles to be upgraded under the banner of Smart Bus consortium

Even as the steep fall in passenger patronage has led to a bulk of private buses in the Greater Kochi area remaining non-operational, bus operators have arrayed themselves under the banner of a Smart Bus consortium, to modernise and streamline their services in a phased manner by optimal use of digital technology.

This will initially cover 200 of the 1,000 private buses that operate in the region. “The technological upgradation is being carried out by roping in buses from all the seven limited liability partnership (LLP) companies that represent the 1,000 buses. Already, most of the 200 buses accept digital payment of fare using the Kochi-1 platform. Passengers who opt for this get 5% discount,” said George Joseph, a city-based bus operator.

The process to extend the facility to all buses is under way. An initiative to install CCTV and enable live tracking of buses too is on. These buses will be discernible by stickers pasted on them. The upgraded buses will hopefully be launched this month, he added.

The innovative project won the Urban Mobility India Award instituted by the Ministry of Urban Development for the best city-bus service in 2019. The upgradation process suffered delay due to the pandemic situation.

Technical help for the shift to digital mode is being offered by the city-based Technovia Infosolutions. Its CEO Nishant Ravindran spoke of how GPS-enabled buses could be tracked by operators using a mobile app named ‘Onedi’ (short for ‘one digital’). “They thus get to know real-time aspects like ticketing position, up-to-date collection figures, driving pattern [where rash driving, if any, can be detected), fuel efficiency etc. These buses will also have a front-facing CCTV camera and one facing the interiors. Apart from getting real-time feed, it will come in handy in case of accidents, especially so the data can be stored for up to 15 days,” he explained.

The app also makes accounting easy and prevents cash pilferage by unscrupulous bus crew. An LED passenger information system has already been installed in 150 buses, where news, updates from the Motor Vehicles Department, and advertisements can be screened.

“We are also readying an app using which passengers can track the location of buses, which will help them plan their trip better and prevent wastage of time. It will be launched by January 2021,” Mr Ravindran said.