650 buses in Kochi to be fitted with GPS

Kochi: A total of 650 city buses will be fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices by this month end as the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) is set to roll out the Journey Planner app by middle of April facilitating commuters with real-time information about the location and estimated time of arrival of the buses. Though the KMRL targeted a total of 1000 private buses, sources said a section of bus owners refused to install the same and the facility will come up in only 800 buses in the initial phase.

“Some of the bus owners cite that they can’t afford of cancel trips and install the devices. Then a section doesn’t want the facility now as they fear that trip cancellations and the like will be revealed,” sources said. However, bus owners denied the charges. “We’re very much for the GPS installation as any way the government made it mandatory. We, however, prefer the work to be carried out in the night so that the day-time trips won’t be affected,” said K.B. Suneer, Secretary, Private Bus Owners Federation.

Meanwhile, a KMRL spokesperson said the Journey planner Mobile App will be introduced by the middle of April. “The application will help commuters with live tracking of buses including destination, route no, expected time of arrival (ETA) and running status (on time/late) among others.  It will display best options for an individual’s trip once the user has entered his/ her start and destination points,” she said.