Five Reasons Why Karnataka’s Buses Are Ahead of the Curve
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation is a pioneer for various initiatives like the AC Volvo bus, bio-fuel buses, an intelligent transport system, and buses with chemical toilets and pantries among other achievements. The KSRTC was the first state transport corporation to launch an app too.
Here’s look at some instances when the service was ahead of the curve:
1. Digital Display Boards
Tired of not knowing which bus to take in Bengaluru? The BMTC is installing digital bus information display boards at 251 points in the city, the Bangalore Mirror reported.
The information will be in both, Kannada and English and displayed between 5 am and 11 pm every day.
“Providing real-time information is crucial. At present, passengers are clueless on arrival of a bus they want to board from a certain bus stop. The BMTC has put in place intelligent transportation system, and this initiative is part of the project. As these systems are displayed at major bus stands and near the Metro station, it will help lakhs of passengers,” an official of the BMTC told BM.
The systems will operate on all the major bus stands in the city like Majestic, Shantinagar, Shivajinagar, Kempe Gowda International Airport, Yeshwanthpur TTMC and others. The BMTC also plans to put up passenger information system (PIS) near Metro stations where the bus stops are located. The project is a part of the intelligent transport system; the BMTC is trying to implement.
2. The Intelligent Transport System – KSTRC, BMTC, MMTC
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a part of the committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Urban Development for monitoring the implementation of Intelligent Transport System (ITS) in eight Indian cities, including Hubballi-Dharwad.
In May this year, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) launched its Intelligent Transport System (ITS). Most of the buses in the BMTC’s fleet is already fitted with GPS so buses can be tracked while on the road. The corporation has also made available a mobile app that helps passengers receive information on bus services.
Mysuru was the first city in the country to launch ITS or Mitra (Mysuru Intelligent Transport) three years ago with majority funding from the World Bank.
3. Bio-Diesel Vehicles
The KSRTC has a fleet of 26 luxury AC buses which run on bio-diesel and 1500 buses which are operated by 20 percent blended bio-diesel buses. It was the first to introduce buses that run 100 percent on biofuel.
4. The first to launch buses with chemical toilets
The KSRTC has also been the first to launch buses with chemical toilets, a pantry, WiFi connectivity and individual television sets.
5. Smart Cards to help students and disabled commuters
The Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is in discussions with vendors to introduce smart cards in its buses.
The smart cards, tenders for which will be invited soon, will replace passes for students, physically challenged commuters, and freedom fighters. “This will be done by the next financial year,” a senior KSRTC official said. “We are discussing the technical requirements.”
