In 2019, bus stops to show buses' ETA

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has decided to set up a system to indicate the expected time of arrival of any bus at a particular bus stop.

On March 12, the BEST Committee approved the administration's plan of introducing intelligent transport management system (ITMS), which will allow the 28 lakh BEST passengers to know the precise location of the bus from the bus stop. Senior BEST officials said that people will know the location of buses that are 15 minutes away from a stop.

"In this system, the buses and bus stops will be integrated with GPS. The buses can be tracked on your cell phone," said a BEST official.

The system will also help the administration decide the daily bus schedule, work hours of drivers and conductors, know the average number of hours a bus plies, count the approximate number of passengers carried in each bus, keep track of buses and their positions, fuel sensors, WiFi, CCTVs, etc. Sources said that they will construct a control room at Wadala depot where the entire fleet can be monitored.

Officials said that they can also track the speed of buses and that they can inform the driver if he is over speeding. There is scope to eliminate conductors too as it will have a electronic ticket issuing machine. This will also help in counting the number of passengers carried by a bus.

"People will also know if the bus is crowded or not and the next available bus after it," said a BEST official.

In this way one can also know the location of a bus sitting at their office desk or home, by simply typing a bus stop's name and the bus route number. Thus the expected time of arrival will be known and it shall improve punctuality of buses, which is very poor.

"We are looking at introducing it within 9 months once the work order is issued. It should be ready by January 2019," said Surendra Bagde, General Manager, BEST.

Initially, around 400 buses out of the total fleet of 3,300 buses and 200 bus stops will be integrated with this system. The overall cost of implementing it is around Rs 112 crore, which is being paid by the BMC. It shall be managed by a private contractor for a period of 5 years.

"The BEST should ensure that sufficient training is given to their staff in smooth operations of this system," said Sunil Ganacharya, member, BEST Committee.

Bus components:

• GPS for automatic vehicle location
• Passenger information system
• CCTVs to keep tab
• Audio of the next bus stop
• LED display

Bus stop components:

• Passenger information system LED display board
• LCD television to show buses enroute a stop
• Mapping of the stop with a mobile app

Penalty to contractor if system doesn't work:

• Rs 200 per day, per screen: If PIS displays aredistorted or information is partial
• Rs 200 per complaint: Inaccurate forecast of ETA
• 0.5 per cent of monthly charges: If content on LED screen isn't refreshed every 20 seconds
• Rs 200 per complaint: Improper bus route or destination displayed by LED

Total fleet: 3,300 buses

• Total bus routes: 502
• Cost of ITMS: Rs 112 crore
• To be ready by: January 2019