Following the footsteps of State owned corporations in Bengaluru and Delhi, city buses too will have closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside them. The proposal, officials of Metropolitan Transport Corporation say, is to to improve security for its passengers especially women and children.
The transport corporation is planning to introduce it only on select routes where offences have occurred in the past and also which have witnessed violent incidents like clashes.
“The cameras will be installed in ordinary and air-conditioned buses. We are studying the routes as of now. It will then be operated on a pilot basis. We are yet to decide whether the cameras should be continuously monitored or just used as a black box to record visuals to be examined later,” said an MTC official.
The government is planning to introduce the facility in buses across the State. “Passengers can write to us about the routes which are problematic and we will consider installing the cameras in these routes,” added the official.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) which installed the cameras in their buses in 2014 has found them very useful. “Of the total fleet strength of 6,700, we have installed CCTV cameras in 500 of them, out have CCTV cameras. Our commuters find it very helpful,” C.G. Anand, General Manager (Technical), BMTC, told The Hindu. Even Delhi Transport Corporation has been testing CCTV cameras in 200 of its nearly 5,000 fleet strength.
The city police officers also feel that CCTV cameras will serve as a deterrent. “Pickpockets and miscreants who harass women can be identified easily,” a senior city police officer said. The MTC with a fleet strength of 3,500 buses transports over 50 lakh passengers every day. It earns about Rs. 2.78 crore a day.
