BEST buses to have GPS to facilitate commuters

Commuters traveling in Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking (BEST) buses will be kept well updated about the timing of the bus, and the next destinations, as it intends to introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) soon on all its buses across the city.

"Like trains, commuters can come to know about the arrival of the bus in advance. We would first carry out the demonstration and see how it works and if any changes are required to be made. The announcement will be made in a language that is easily understood by people," said the newly appointed Chairperson of BEST Committee Dilip Patel.

Commuters at the bus stop can know about the timing of the arrival of the bus and inside the bus they will also be informed about the next stop. Also, if there is traffic on the road then the same will be conveyed to them.

"During rainy and summer season it is bit tiring for commuters to wait for hours at the bus stop. With this new technology the commuters will come to know about the timing in advance so they can arrive minutes before the bus comes," Patel said.

However, the new technology will not burden the existing fares. "So far we have not increased the rates of tickets and even if we introduce this new system we will not increase the rates. We are doing it for the welfare of the commuters," Patel said.

GPS is a modern technology and all countries have been using it for the benefit of commuters and we are also doing the same, he said.

The BEST feels that the cost of the project will be high and since they are running into loss they would still go ahead to introduce new technology.

"Though the BEST is running into loss, but for the security of commuters we would do anything and would look out for various options for funding the project like World Bank and others," he said.

The cost of the project depends on the size of the screens if the screen is bigger then the cost will be higher. cost is not a factor nothing has been decided properly yet and it is too early to say anything, Patel said.

"In wake of the terror attacks the BEST would install CCTV inside the bus to ensure passenger safety, he said.

The GPS receiver captures position data from the satellites, computes the position of the vehicle and sends this information to a central base station using SMS.

This information is collected by the built-in web-server at the base station. If the optional storage module is installed, then location data can be stored when the vehicle is out of range of the cellular operator and retrieved later.