LED system to be put up at stops, in buses if pilot project succeeds
LED system to be put up at stops, in buses if pilot project succeeds
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Going electronic: The LCD display at a bus stop. Pic/Satish Badiger |
Taking a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus is set to become easier with LED display boards at bus stops to guide commuters. Such display boards will also be installed inside the buses and, coupled with audio announcements, will enable commuters, especially those new to a route, to know where to get off.
The move comes as part of the Passenger Information System (PIS) that aims to electronically display bus routes and bus numbers at over 3,000 bus stops.
The pilot project is being conducted at Residency Road bus stop near Baldwin school. Based on the response, the initiative will be extended to the other bus stops in phases.
Sampangiram Gowda of the BMTC, said, "The system is installed at Shanthinagar bus stand. But the Residency Road bus stop is the first one to be part of our bigger plan. We will have many such displays across the city, shortly."
Going hi-tech
The new LED boards, say experts, will provide commuters with latest information about buses plying to various destinations, a vast improvement over manually-painted boards that are in use now and which can not provide quick updates.
"The bus routes keep changing from time to time and instant information is not available on manual boards. As these boards are electronic and controlled by a master facility, commuters can be provided with updated information instantly, which makes their travel easy," said Prof M N Shrihari, a traffic expert.
The audio announcement along with display inside buses will follow once the display system at the Residency Road stop proves successful.
No Hindi?
"The display of information and announcement at every stop inside buses and at bus stops will be both in Kannada and English. It will help the newcomers too," added Gowda.
The experts are also worried about the details of the service.
"Such systems can be well managed by GIS and GPS, the way it's usually done in Metro trains. But maintaining accurate timings is a big challenge," added Shrihari.
