After 6yr struggle, DTC buses to get new GPS units next year
DELAYED PROJECT The trackers will help DTC check the status of its operational buses on a realtime basis
NEW DELHI: After plying on the city’s roads with a faulty tracking system for over six years, DTC buses will now be equipped with new GPS units by February 2018.
Once installed in every bus, the GPS (global positioning system) trackers will help the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) check the status of its operational bus on a real-time basis. Apart from ensuring the safety of passengers, it will also enable the corporation to fix accountability by penalising the driver or the conductor in case of inordinate delay in completing a trip or a change in the authorised route.
The decision to reinstall GPS in buses was taken by the Delhi government in a recent meeting chaired by transport minister Kailash Gahlot.
“We are preparing the tender document for installation of GPS in DTC buses, which shall be ready by next week. The tender is being prepared on a ‘cost model’, which simply means the DTC will directly pay to the concessionaire,” a DTC official said.
In September, Hindustan Times had reported how the DTC is unable to track any of its 3,780 buses as the GPS installed in all of them are out of order. The project to install GPS in buses was launched in 2010 after a number of erstwhile Blue Line bus drivers were held for accidents. The government had spent on the project
buses in which GPS was installed
buses are not in use due to ageing of the fleet DTC buses plying on Delhi roads - none of them have functional GPS
The software and the server were not equipped to take heavy data load of over 4,000 buses
Technicians deployed were untrained, inadequate and inefficient
GPS devices were kept in metal casing which downgraded its performance
were multiple including manhandling and software issues.
The project had cost the government around ₹35 crore and now it has already cancelled its contract with the DIMTS stating that its ‘Automatic Vehicle Location System was “non workable”, “inefficient” and “unreliable.”
When Hindustan Times asked DIMTS as to why the tracking system which works fine in the cluster buses operated by them failed in the DTC buses, it blamed
Device was built in a way that it would stop when the bus engine stopped
“lack of integration.”
“The system was not integrated well by the DTC despite imparting training sessions to its staff. In the depots, there were no fleet managers to ensure security of the devices while buses enter and leave the depot,” a DIMTS official told HT. The DTC, on the other hand, claimed that DIMTS could not perform its responsibility as even the technicians it had deployed were “untrained, inadequate and inefficient.”
WOMEN SAFETY
With Delhi Police women safety SOS Himmat App getting a lukewarm response from Delhiites, the force has adopted a new strategy to promote it – by displaying women safety messages on buses in the city.
For this, the police launched a joint campaign with app-based bus provider Shuttl to increase awareness for Himmat App and helpline number 1090. 100 buses from the Shuttl fleet would display these messages.
Special Commissioner of Police, traffic, Dependra Pathak flagged off the first 25 of these buses at a formal launch in Rajghat on Friday.
Pathak said that another 50 coaches will be wrapped with messages on women safety and terrorism to increase awareness within general public. “Delhi police has and will continue to make it safe for women, to live, work and travel within the city... Today, on Rajghat, we renew our pledge to make commuting a safe experience for women and everyone,” said Pathak.
Deepanshu Malviya, Shuttl co-founder, said they were pleased to offer their network of coaches to spread the awareness for the app and helpline number 1090. “Shuttl sees this partnership as the first among the many steps it intends to take with authorities to empower women and make Delhi a benchmark of safety,” he said.