By using big data and an electronic tracking system, the City of Bengaluru can optimize the operation of public transport in one of India’s fastest-growing cities, with more than eight million citizens.
Nicknamed “the Silicon Valley of India,” Bengaluru saw the introduction of an intelligent transport system (ITS) as a natural next step in support of the city’s bus rapid transit system. In order to provide real-time information about the buses, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) deployed an ITS featuring a GPS-enabled vehicle tracking system, electronic ticketing machines, a passenger information system (PIS), control room, and data center.
The system will improve user mobility by providing reliable real-time information on bus arrivals and route information to commuters via PIS, website, and an app. The operators can monitor and track buses and their performance – improving efficiency by route optimization, decreasing operational costs, and optimizing resource utilization. The $10.9 million project launched in 2016 and is expected to be fully implemented in 2021. The project will also include installation of 10,000+ handheld electronic ticket machines and vehicle tracking systems in 6,400 buses.
BMTC aims to reduce 51,400 metric tons of CO2 per year
The challenge
Getting an overview of the BMTC, which operates a fleet of 6,000 buses and serves five million passengers every day is a difficult task. An ITS was designed to improve the efficiency and operations of the buses, incentivizing even greater ridership numbers from the citizens of Bengaluru.
Co-benefits
Economic The system enabled BMTC to establish and maintain tight control over operations, resulting in an increase in total effective kilometers covered daily, making a positive impact on the system’s financial performance.
Environmental Improved information has led to increased loyalty from commuters and modal shift of passengers from private cars to public transport, reducing pollution.
Social BMTC’s app provides commuters with information on the ETA (estimated time of arrival) of buses in real time. The app also provides a platform for commuters to submit concerns or complaints, for BMTC to act upon.
About Bengaluru
Bangalore, officially known as Bengaluru, is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of about 8.42 million and a metropolitan population of about 8.52 million, making it the third most populous city and fifth most populous urban agglomeration in India. Bangalore is sometimes referred to as the “Silicon Valley of India” because of its role as the nation’s leading information technology exporter and is the second fastest-growing major metropolis in India.
