Mumbai-Pune E-way commuters to soon get real-time SMSes

Are you wary of travelling on the Mumbai- Pune expressway on holidays and weekends due to the heavy traffic buildup? Soon, commuters will be able to plan their travel based on the traffic situation on the expressway.

The state highway police will launch a system of real-time SMS alerts and set up electronic signages at vantage points to generate automatic warnings and guide motorists and inform them about events like traffic congestion, road works, accidents or speed limits. It will also deploy drones and CCTV cameras to nab traffic violators. These boards will be set up before the next monsoon, at an estimated cost of around Rs 4.5 crores, including operations.

The 94-km expressway which has redefined road travel from Mumbai to Pune and beyond, but suffers from falling service levels due to rising traffic load and lack of capacity expansion, will be the first such road in Maharashtra to get such modern traffic management systems.

This was discussed during a meeting by the state home department recently.

These tools will help reduce crowding during heavy traffic situations and help authorities deliver emergency services during mishaps. The stretch has seen 1,646 accidents, including fatal accidents and serious mishaps since 2013.

R.K Padmanabhan, Additional director-general of police (traffic), said they were planning a system of SMS alerts to inform people about any events like traffic jams and mishaps on the route. He added they were also planning to install CCTV cameras and use drones on an experimental basis.

Vijay Patil, superintendent of police (headquarters), attributed factors like excess speeding, lack of lane discipline and vehicles being parked on the road shoulders as being responsible for mishaps.

He added they were planning to send out SMS alerts from towers in a certain geographical area in case of situations that affected traffic. The MSRDC is also finalizing installation of CCTV cameras on the stretch to nab traffic violators.

“We are planning to set up six variable message system (VMS) boards on and before the expressway. These will be cloud-based and automatically generate alerts. A total of nine LED boards will also be established. We will use them to warn people in case of any traffic jams, mishaps, repair works or law and order issues on the expressway. This will enable people to stay away from highway and reduce traffic jams," confirmed a MSRDC official.

“The boards can be used to inform motorists about any traffic jams or accidents that affect traffic flow and any diversions. This information can enable people to arrange their schedule and explore travel options like using the old Mumbai- Pune highway," noted Patil. The police is also planning to use two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to ascertain the traffic situation, especially in the 19 km ghat section.

Padmanabhan said they had used the “golden hour’ system, wherein the Khalapur to Urse toll plaza stretch was closed for three-axle and multi-axle heavy vehicles. In the system, which is in place since October 2016, these golden hours are from 5PM to 8PM on Friday evening or evening of extended holidays or 8AM to 12noon on Saturday mornings or first mornings of extended holidays from Mumbai to Pune. On the Pune to Mumbai stretch, the closure will be between 4PM to 8PM on Sunday evening or evening or last evening or extended holidays or 6AM to 9AM on Monday morning or morning of working days after extended holidays.

This had increased the number of vehicles that used the Khalapur toll naka between 5PM to 8PM, from 4,279 light and 450 heavy vehicles on September 9, 2016, before the system was brought in to 14,898 light and 847 heavy vehicles on May 26 between 6 to 8PM.

Patil said under the “invisible policing" experiment, the highway police staff travelled in their official vehicles or in civilian vehicles in six zones of around 30km each to detect traffic violations. These in turn where informed on whatsapp to other personnel who fined them. This was because the speed of vehicles on the road made it tough to note down registration numbers while the staff was on foot.