KSRTC to try its hand at intelligent transport system

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is all set to introduce an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) in Mysore that could usher a new experience for those commuting in the heritage city.

This is the first attempt at implementing ITS in India. The corporation plans to cover 500 buses, 105 bus stops, six bus terminals and 45 platforms in the city.

With the driving in Mysore becoming a nightmare, and parking problems all the more bothersome in urban centres, a high-tech solution in public transport system could usher in a new era for city dwellers with many shifting to the public transport system.

Against this background, the solution planned for Mysore provides for a dynamic passenger information system (PIS) available on public displays at bus stops, bus terminals and even on the internet.

With this facility to be available shortly, one could plan a commute knowing in advance the exact time it would arrive at the bus stand, availability of seats, and the time it would take to reach the destination, thus saving on the waiting time at the bus stands and avoiding overcrowded buses. This uncertainty is what drives most people to use their own vehicles.

These new services based on GPS-enabled navigation systems and supported by information and communication technologies will help KSRTC run their operations efficiently. Each bus will be continuously tracked by a central control station and it is planned to integrate ITS with the traffic management system, says R Sekar, principal consultant of eGestalt, who are the consultants to this project.

With this facility, KSRTC chief mechanical engineer C G Anand, says, the KSRTC hopes to woo a significant population of the self-driven vehicle owner segment to move to public transport system that is supported by real-time information, and help reduce road congestion and other transport issues.

Supported by a two-way communication voice facility, the driver and the central control station could be in constant touch on road traffic-jams, incidents and accidents, route diversion in case of emergencies, etc., The ITS solution will scale up to meet additional buses deployed as necessary on temporary ô permanent basis.

As an city emerging, Mysore has been chosen since it is a potent place given its historical background, tourist activities witnessing a high growth rate in traffic density, and a projected 70 per cent increase in the land use profile. Also, with all the modern infrastructure amenities, the city offers several opportunities to the people.

The consultants to this project, eGestalt Technologies have been the forerunners in innovative segments in transport, health, government, SEZs, Information Security. eGestalt is a world-class, innovation driven, leading provider of cloud computing based enterprise solutions for information security and IT-GRC management. It is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Bangalore, and has offices in the US, Asia-Pacific and West Asia.