Now, BMTC bus tracking at your fingertips

Now, BMTC bus tracking at your fingertips


Ashwini M Sripad |ENS
19 Sep 2008 04:12:00 AM IST

BANGALORE: The long wait for a BMTC bus may soon end. The BMTC, in association with a City-based tech company, has installed a global positioning system (GPS) that would enable you to track the bus from anywhere in the City or world.

Initially, Volvo buses plying between the airport and Electronics City, Majestic and a few other localities will be fitted with the facility. In the first phase, 40 buses have been fitted with GPS devices and another 100 will be covered soon.

BMTC director (Security and Vigilance) P Sandhu, said there were plans to install GPS on all buses in a phased manner.

A senior official in the BMTC told The Express that the corporation, in collaboration with Ambara Software Technologies Private Limited was installing the GPS devices on a B2B model.

"We are not investing anything to get these GPS machines. The company will invest the entire amount and would use the LCD screens mounted inside Volvo buses and at key bus shelters to display commercials," the officer said, adding that the company had agreed to pay a monthly rental of Rs 15,500 per bus where these devices had been installed.

A representative of the company, Anil Kumar Nayak, said: "Adopting GPS will benefit both the Corporation and the public as one can locate the bus from anywhere. It will also give information like travelling time taken by the bus and travelling speed." The company is also installing a passenger information system (PIS) at 80 Volvo bus shelters. Every bus shelter will have 37-inch LCD screens which will display details like arrival and departure time, its present location en route to next destination among others.

The 21-inch LCD screen inside the bus will display information like next bus stop with a voice over, flight timings and advertisements.