B-Trac gets ready to hit the road in six months

B-Trac gets ready to hit the road in six months
The Times of India

Bangalore: The ambitious traffic management project B-Trac 2010, will finally be operational soon. The city’s traffic scene will see a sea change within six months after the project is operationalised.
Conceived by the traffic police and being implemented by the KRDCL at a cost of Rs 350 crore, the project received Rs 44 crore as allocation in the coming fiscal.
The project, which aims to decongest traffic, has various components such as: transport information system, central area traffic reforms and traffic management centres.
The Bangalore Transport Information System — an integral part of the project — is a modern and hi-tech method of generating congestion information, passive monitoring of cellphone movements along arterial roads, conversion of data into congestion and time-taken-to-travel information, dissemination to public through VMS, FM, SMS, Internet and helplines.
The state-of-the art centre for information on traffic gives out details through signal detectors, monitoring cameras, field reports and processing of information using latest technology and manual monitoring.
The central area traffic reforms will deal with congested areas and review the existing one-way systems, introduction of new one-ways, signal synchronisation and parking review.
The project will also introduce hand-held computers and a traffic helpline. Hand-held devices will be given to traffic officers to book cases and issue notices through wireless pocket printers to integrate with the automated enforcement system, to track repeat offenders and impose enhanced fine. This will lead to suspension of licences, permits of repeat violators and to network all the traffic officers for task management and e-mails. The traffic monitoring camera system will comprise deployment of 45 latest traffic monitoring cameras to monitor congestion, violations and to suggest remedial actions.
ADDED FACILITIES
Deployment of 40 variable message system boards: it will disseminate congestion, time taken to travel information. Easy Auto: being modelled on the lines of the working of city taxis, with a dedicated call centre. Will offer services from the word go. Common complaints such as refusal to go for hire, demanding excess fare, harassment by the auto drivers will be a thing in the past. Modern road marking, gantries, signage: For better traffic guidance and delineation, 200 km of thermoplastic road marking, large number of gantries and signage, 10,000 tubular cones for lanes, hazards, auto lanes.
Enforcement Camera system: deployment of five state-of-the-art cameras, detecting and capturing signal jumping vehicles, over-speeding vehicles, automated generation of traffic challans with photo evidence.