MTC to ride digital wave with fresh offerings

App, revamped website to be launched soon

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) is close to finalising a contractor for developing a mobile app on the lines of what the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) offers, in the coming months.

The State Transport Department had called for tenders for coding a mobile app, for which a contractor is set to be finalised. A senior official of the State Transport Department said a contractor will be selected once the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is lifted. He said: “Once the contractor is selected, the app will be up and running within 90 days.”

GPS in buses

The app will be able to provide real-time data on buses to the commuters through their mobile phones, as GPS will be fitted in the 3,500-strong fleet of buses.

In another development, the Transport Department is also set to unveil the redesigned MTC website, which has been delayed, after the Lok Sabha election results are out.

A senior official of the MTC said the new website was ready by March but could not be launched as the general elections were announced. Once the election results are out, the new-look website will be inaugurated, he added.

The redesigned website of the MTC, which was shown to The Hindu, will showcase the complete fare lists of Ordinary, Express and Deluxe buses. In the ‘search’ tab, a commuter will be able to identify the buses from one destination to another, along with stage-wise stops. The page will also provide a full set of bus timings. The MTC, which had not displayed the small bus timings in the old website, has proposed to display the timings.

Also, senior citizens would no longer have to wait in queues to get their concession form, as a set of forms will be made available online. A senior official of MTC said the new website will have contact details of all the branch managers and the Customer Care number.

One of the side features is that the new website is going to be dynamic in nature against a static one, with regular updates of any announcements to be made available in the Home page under Latest news.

The new website will have the trademark verses of Thirukkural on the Home page with the verses changing every time one refreshes the page. The MTC website will also migrate to a new address www.mtcbus.tn.gov.in from the old www.mtcbus.org .