BMTC plan goes off-kilter

BMTC plan goes off-kilter
SHRINIVASA M.
DC | BENGALURU


Article Rank






q VALUE-ADDED SERVICES NOT FUNCTIONAL ON BMTC’s VOLVO BUSES

Bangalore Me tropolitan Transport Corporation’s (BMTC) plan to give passengers their fill of information and infotainment by introducing Global Positioning System (GPS) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enabled services in Volvo buses has hit a road block. While most of the Volvo buses are yet to benefit from these services, the equipment introduced in a select few is out of order
The BMTC came up with the idea of introducing GPS enabled services including On Board Infotainment System (OBIS) in its fleet of Volvo buses in March 2008
But the Corporation has not been able to get over the early hiccups including training staff in the use of GPS equipment
Sources in BMTC said that the GPS enabled services were meant to provide location-specific content as most of the commuters are tourists and those from other states. The OBIS was meant to make the journey entertaining with the help of video shows. The Corporation had hoped to increase the occupancy rate of Volvo buses with these add-ons as they have been incurring huge losses since they were introduced
In the first phase, BMTC joined hands with a private advertisement agency to install OBIS instruments in 23 Volvo buses on a pilot basis. These were intended to provide the bus the location map and entertainment besides carrying advertisements
Now, after nearly one and a half years, most of the OBIS instruments are out of order
Subramanya Swamy, a daily Volvo commuter told Deccan Chronicle, “Except the air conditioner, the Corporation has failed to provide any value-added service to Volvo commuters
The OBIS would have been a hit as non Kannadigas have a problem with identifying the location because of the language barrier.” According to traffic consultant, BMTC Prof M.N
Shrihari, there were several reasons for the failure of OBIS instruments on Volvo buses. “Most of them are non-functional due to poor maintenance and the absence of GPS connectivity
GPS-enabled services need good service as a backup and trained supervisors operating them and in the absence of these, they have stopped functioning,” he said
The staff at BMTC have to be trained extensively in operating GPS/GPRS instruments to provide quality services to passengers
“This needs a proper plan failing which the Corporation will find it difficult to satisfy passengers,” he warned
When contacted, BMTC officials asserted that the GPS/ GPRS service will become operational in all buses soon
Speaking to this newspaper, BMTC chief traffic controller G.N. Veere Gowda said, “Due to technical hiccups, we could not introduce GPS/GPRS service on time. The corporation is committed to providing all value added services to commuters.”