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NEWS

Kochi - 1,600 buses to come
under ‘informed transit’ system

or the first time, 1,600 city buses around 1,000
Fbuses operated by private operators and 600
government-run buses in the Greater Kochi region
will unite under one platform. The “informed transit”
system will make it possible to track these buses using
GPS, which is supported by the Kochi1 app of Kochi
Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL).
First Self-Adjusting Road Divider The Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC) signed
ade in India, world’s first self-adjusting automated smart road agreements with seven private bus operating
Mdivider (SMIDER), promises to ease traffic woes in Bengaluru, companies for providing an informed transit application
Built by innovator Ashwin Natarajan, the technology not only helps through the Kochi1 app. The implementation of the
in decongesting traffic but also makes way for emergency vehicles project is likely to be completed by the first week of
on priority. Engineered to function both in automatic and manual April 2018. Dissemination of information through live
modes, the SMIDER can open up to re-route traffic on to less crowded/ tracking of buses, present and upcoming destination,
alternate roads. route number, expected time of arrival (ETA), running
SMIDER can be helpful in solving many traffic related problems like status (on time/late) would attract more people to
by re-routing traffic at crammed junctions, it can help ease congestion use the public transportation network, and eventually
with less time invested in traffic management. It reduce the idling Kochi would become a public transport-friendly city.
of vehicles it can also cut down on the emissions leading to slightly The companies that signed agreements with UMTC
better air quality at intersections and minimise the effort of traffic are Kochi Wheelz United LLP, Perfect Bus Metro
cops who often put their lives at risk to redirect and manage traffic. Services LLP, Muziris Bus LLP, My Metro Bus Services
Apart from traffic decongestion, SMIDER can help in providing LLP, Greater Cochin Bus Transport Association LLP,
emergency vehicular access and crime prevention. The panel board Pratheeksha Bus Transport Operators Organization
attached to the SMIDER allows traffic policemen to either operate it and Kochi Metropolitan Transport Cooperative
in an automated method through available pre-sets in an easy manner Society.
or in manual mode where they can move/open the SMIDER to allow Under phase-II, the project would be extended to
an ambulance, stop escaping offenders, etc. KSRTC/KURTC buses. The model adopted in Kochi is
The product is now awaiting completion of a few necessary final that the seven bus companies would pay Rs 5 per bus
trials where its various mechanical and electrical components are a day to UMTC as service charge. The bus operators
validated before it gains the proof of concept (POC) and proceeds to can recover this expenditure if they could get one
deployment stage. additional passenger on bus a day.

MoU between India-Britain to improve Transport System
and Passenger Service

memorandum of understanding was recently strategy and procurement methodologies,
A signed between India and Britain to improve policy development and assessment of
public transport system and passenger services. technology strategies, operations procurement
The MoU would help in sharing of information in & contracting, infrastructure maintenance
the areas of Public Transport System, passenger strategies, infrastructure design and delivery etc.
services, data analysis, induction of electric
vehicles, introduction of technology, ticketing Further, it will help in introducing innovative
and the provision of passenger information, practices such as digital payments, standardizing
urban transport planning and policy, institutional the design of the buses, use of technology for
organisation of transport, governance and demand projection and route rationalization to
accountability arrangements, project financing, enhance efficiency of public transport operations.

18 December ’17 - January ’18 / TrafficInfraTech www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com