Mumbai: Soon you may be able to track movement of BEST buses while waiting

Representational Image

Taking a step towards digitalising its entire fleet of buses and all the bus stops across the city, the BEST Undertaking approved the Rs 112-crore Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS), which would allow commuters to know the expected time of arrival of buses while they wait at the stops.

According to senior BEST officials, initially 400 buses out of the total 3,300 and 200 bus stops would be integrated with the system. Commuters would be alerted about the location of buses, when they are just 15 minutes away from the stops.

Speaking to mid-day, BEST General Manager Surendra Bagde said, "Through this system, buses and stops will be integrated with GPS. Commuters will be able to track the movement of buses on their cell phone. This will also help the administration decide on the bus schedules and work timings. A control room at the Wadala depot will help monitor the entire fleet."

He further said, "Once the work order is issued, we plan to get the system running within nine months. Tentatively, it should start operating by January 2019."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates