Date:26/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/26/stories/2008042654750600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Technology to track RTC buses

Implementing this system for 1,000 buses and 100 terminals costs Rs. 1 lakh

Standing tall: A. Ramesh Kumar of G. Narayanamma Institute of Technology & Science under whose guidance the students (in picture) developed the ‘Bus Herald Service’.

HYDERABAD: Long waits are painful and irritating, more so at bus stops.

With no information on the arrival time of RTC buses, tension rises along with the scorching heat among students and office-goers.

A group of engineering students from G. Narayanamma Institute of Technology & Science (GNITS) had gone through similar ordeal for two years and then an idea stuck that why can’t the position of buses be tracked sitting in the bus stop?

Some innovative thinking on their part coupled with technology led to the creation of what they named ‘Bus Herald Service’.

The technology helps display of arrival of the buses on a particular route with the control system at the service of the driver. So depending on the situation driver can send the exact time of the arrival or delays due to traffic jams or break downs.

“This will not only improve the efficiency of public transportation system but also help the commuters to change their travel plans,” says Sudha, third year student of ETM branch, who along with her three other friends - Keerti, Sushmita and Harini developed this project.

This will ease congestion at bus stops as commuters would no longer have to run after the buses to catch them.