When Kishore Lad, a Delhi resident came to Mumbai two years ago to pursue a career in Human Resources (HR), he used get stuck in traffic snarls almost every day.
New to Mumbai and its traffic jams, Lad knew just one route from his home in Chembur to Fort, where he works and other suburbs in Mumbai, where he would fix up meeting with clients. Naturally, he was tired of the traffic jams and was desperate to find a way out.
Then came an SMS service project, initiated by the traffic department of the Mumbai police alerting motorists about roads to avoid due to traffic jams. Ever since, Lad and thousands of other motorists have benefited from the crucial information alert sent out by the traffic police.
“I take their advice seriously and plan my route accordingly. My travel time has reduced considerably,” said Lad. “Plus, I know the city better now as I take alternative routes to avoid the jams,” he added.
The traffic police have created three traffic communities TrafficCity, TrafficEast and TrafficWest and send traffic alerts to the community members twice a day-during peak hours of the morning and evening. “Avoiding the jammed route much better than getting stuck in traffic snarls,” said Ramya Venkataraman, an advertising professional, who drives to her office at Juhu from Sion.
“Apart from informing the motorists about traffic jams, we are also planning to send additional messages alerting motorists about accidents, processions, political rallies, floods and religious gatherings,” said Sanjay Barve, joint commissioner of police, traffic.
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