Geo-fencing system to be set up to track private buses: Min
The high court had on Friday directed state govt to take immediate action to revise the time schedule to stop speeding and reckless driving of private buses.
Talking to TOI, the minister said that bus operators' organisations have agreed to implement a geo-fencing system to ensure that buses are keeping their time schedule. He said road transport officers (RTOs) would hold discussions regarding the project with bus operators in respective areas.
"If bus operators in some areas are not ready to implement the geo-fencing system, we will implement it. Road safety authority has already earmarked Rs 2 crore for this purpose," said Kumar.
"The overlapping of timings of buses from different routes converging at main routes is a major issue. We are hopeful that the geo-fencing system will resolve this issue completely as it will help ensure accuracy in the time schedule," he added.
"Govt will strictly implement the rule regarding the time schedule. The time gap between two buses would be five minutes in city areas and it would be ten minutes in rural areas. The geo-fencing system will ensure that all buses are keeping their time schedule, as the geo-fencing clearly records the time of passing of buses at each point. At the state transport authority (STA) meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, bus operators agreed to follow the guideline," he said.
Transport commissioner Nagaraju C recently said geo-fencing system was successfully implemented on Palakkad-Thrissur route and transport department was planning to replicate it across the state. The system will trigger alerts when a bus enters or exits select points or exceeds a speed limit within a specific zone.
Kumar said that bus operators have been strictly directed to avoid appointing people with a criminal background as staff. "A group of bus operators protested against me when I made a statement against drivers who are involved in drug peddling and violence against women. I still stick to my stand. We cannot agree with appointing people with an anti-social mindset as drivers, conductors or any other staff of the bus," he said.
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