Making Blue Line Bus Service of Delhi Transport System a safe one.
A few years time back I used write a regular column called ‘Harsh Realities’ for Computer Express. It was a very good and satisfying experience. I used to write about wish list of a user/common person. Some times I wrote about what was technically possible but where no one was offering a solution in the market. Sometimes I wrote about the dreams of solutions which would make life simpler, easier and better. Sure enough, over the years almost all those dreams have come true. This has encouraged me to write again. Here we will discuss what is technically possible but not available as a commercial solution or a solutions are available but they have not caught on. All suggestion, ideas, and wish lists from the readers are also welcome. Please mail me.
Those who are in touch with the news in Delhi regularly get shocks because the Blue line busses of the city transport system regularly keep killing people. They read tragic new almost every day. There are people who argue that there are about 1.4 crore people in Delhi and if one or two die everyday then statistically it is an insignificant number. However, you can certainly say that the person quoting such statistics has not lost any near or dear one is such road tragedy. When we talk of accidental deaths we cannot talk of statistics but have to think of the individuals who are lost in these avoidable tragedies and their families. People in Delhi have often clamored to take all these buses off the road. Some time back these buses were also taken off the road for a short while. But that led to another problem because then the people could not go to offices for work. Can technology assist in solving this problem? The answer is –Yes, a simple solution is available. Let us see how.
The drivers of these busses know that there is no system to monitor and correctly and accurately record their performance when they are controlling the steering wheel. The solution to put inspectors all along the routes to monitor them is too expensive. They even run away from the site after the accident and sometimes the buses cannot be traced. So if we have a system which constantly and accurately records what they do, the problem will be under control to a great extent. These recordings could be used for action replay when needed (location of the bus at time and place of accident etc.) or for generating exception reports (over speeding, rash driving, not stopping at the bus stand etc.) and counseling/training the driver so that he improves his driving skills/habits. In other words these could be used for policing, punishments and rewards system and also for improving the driving skills of the driver.
Let us put a GPS device on all the buses. This device will accurately and constantly beam the location and speed of the bus to the central server. It will also record time and location where the bus came to a halt. These points will be matched by the computer with the latitudes and longitudes of the bus route and the schedule halts of the bus. The exception statement generated from the system will tell us bus-stops where the driver did not stop the bus or stopped much ahead/short of the bus stop or if he deviated form his route etc. etc. This information will flow to the supervisors of the transport company who will be under obligation to counsel the driver and to take action against the incorrigible ones. The bad cases will also be with the police for imposing penalties, fines and for taking other legal actions. The transport companies and school authorities will be under obligation to review the exception reports and to take prompt appropriate action. This will take care of the problems to a great extent.
It is also possible to develop a special ‘Black Box’ for buses/trucks which will record the acts of the driver accurately and which will be temper proof somewhat on the lines of the airlines ‘Black Box’. This will even record where and when the driver changed the gear, the speed at that time, sharpness of the turn made by the diver, speed at the road crossing etc. etc. Recording these details and monitoring them will further improve the driving /skills of the driver. The main beneficiary of this system will be the transport company providing the bus because improvement in the driving skills and habits of the driver will result in less wear and tear of the busses and it will also improve life of the buses and thereby increasing the Return on Investment (ROI).
Let us now discuss the cost of the device and solution.
The cost of device to be put on the buses will cost about Rs. 10,000/- or so and application at the central server will cost about Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore depending on the number of the vehicles to be monitored and response time etc. We will also have to prepare GIS maps of the road system in the city. The cost of the device on bus will be born by the transport company. There would be a number of companies which will be willing to put in their money on PPP model for the system at the central server end. A part of the cost could be recovered form the advertising revenues and the balance will have to be borne by the transport companies providing the buses. Certainly they must pay the residual cost of the service because their buses get monitored. They would be willing to pay as they are the ones who are ultimately responsible (vicarious liability) for the acts of their drivers and have to bear the legal etc. costs of the deeds/misdeeds of the drivers.
(Written in 2007)
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