Visakhapatnam: The global positioning systems (GPS) enabled bus services have not commenced in the city though over a couple of months have passed since the devices have been installed as part of the Smart City project.
Though the digital display boards are seen at many bus shelters and city buses, some technical problems have led to the delay in their functioning.
The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has been providing the GPS tools for 100 buses in area-based development region.
The APSRTC has already procured these devices for its buses from Tata Consultancy Services.
The GVMC proposes to integrate this to other smart city projects including smart poles and CCTV cameras. It has incorporated a special purpose vehicle Greater Visakhapatnam Smart City Corporation Ltd to implement these proposed projects. Its officials initially planned to start the project by March this year, but have not completed till now.
However, the GVMC is hopeful that the technical issues will be sorted and the GPS-based bus services will commence from next month onwards. “So far, electricity was supplied to almost all the digital display boards. Internet connectivity will also be provided from the central command and communication centre,” GVMC commissioner M. Hari Narayanan said.
“City bus passengers can soon see information pertaining to bus arrivals on the digital display set up at every bus stop. This Smart City initiative will be operational from November,” APSRTC regional manager G. Sudesh Kumar said, adding “As of now, the passengers can track the bus over the mobile app.”
