The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) debuted the eagerly anticipated "Namma BMTC" mobile application on Monday as part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations. BMTC has received funds from the Government of India under the Nirbhaya Scheme for the implementation of the BMTC Mobile App with women safety features, in-bus surveillance system in city buses, and Passenger Information System (PIS) at bus stops/stations, according to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who officially launched the application.
According to BMTC officials, this initiative introduces a cutting-edge mobile application that women commuters can use to seek remote assistance in the event of an emergency, track the movements of women commuters who request support, on-board cameras to monitor on-bus activities, panic buttons within buses for women passengers to seek remote assistance in the event of emergency, and create a centralised helpline for offering assistance in times of need.
“For 5,000 buses, onboard devices, vehicle tracking devices to know the location of the buses installed, 5,000 panic buttons, 10,000 CCTV cameras, and a surveillance system has been installed and 500 Passenger Information System Boards for displaying estimated time of arrival and departure at a bus stand and stations have been installed,” Sathyavathi G., Managing Director of BMTC said.
The Namma BMTC Mobile App, created by M/s MCT Cards and Technologies Pvt. Ltd., is now accessible on the Android and iOS platforms. In the meantime, the BMTC stated in a release that it has only received the Nirbhaya cash for 5,000 buses. Only 75% of the fleet's entire strength will participate in the programme. In this respect, only 5000 of the total 6500+ buses will be tracked in real time. However, steps will soon be taken to locate the other buses, according to a press release.
