The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) have collaborated with cab and auto aggregators and other key stakeholders to gather crowd-sourced traffic data to improve situational awareness, develop actionable intelligence for officers, and share valuable insights with citizens.
M.N. Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, said that as part of the ASTraM (Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management) initiative, aimed at improving traffic management in the city, collaborations have been established with diverse stakeholders. “The primary objective is to offer situational awareness, enabling informed, data-driven decisions to enhance the efficiency of traffic management,” he added.
The police have established a “data lake”, integrating information from key stakeholders such as cab aggregators, corporate transport service providers, travel data aggregators, map service providers, accident data, enforcement data, BTP field officer BOT, and social media. This data lake serves as a comprehensive resource, offering insights into the overall road traffic situation in Bengaluru. The primary goal is to derive situational awareness from this data, facilitating data-driven decision-making for more effective traffic management, officials said.
According to Mr. Anucheth, the congestion alerts are designed to deliver real-time notifications on traffic congestion to the respective traffic officials every 15 minutes. This system is seamlessly integrated with the e-attendance system, ensuring that alerts are transmitted to both junction jockeys and sector officers, as well as other stakeholders. This integration aims to enhance traffic planning and management.
The traffic police have already focused on eight high density corridors in the city to predict traffic from BTP data lake.
Citizens welcomed the new initiative. Priya Shankar, a resident of Rajajinagar, said, “It’s great to see Bengaluru traffic police taking such proactive steps. The collaboration with cab and auto aggregators for crowd-sourced data is surely a game-changer. BTP data lake shows a commitment to using technology for better traffic planning in the city.”
A few others hoped that this initiative won’t just be a flashy endeavor but will genuinely contribute to reducing traffic congestion. Mohan Kumar, a resident of K.R. Puram, said, “These online initiatives shouldn’t be merely fancy apps; they need to have a lasting impact on the ground. The integration of various stakeholders and the establishment of the BTP data lake signifies a step towards using technology for more effective traffic planning.”
