Bengal Transport Dept ties up with Google to help commuters

Commuters can now plan their trip within Kolkata on Google maps on phone, thanks to State Transport Department. With all data of routes under State Transport utilities available on Google, one can touch and select the public transport bus or tram services one wants to avail to reach their destination.

The map suggests the best route to reach one’s destination, giving citizens a respite from rogue taxi or auto drivers who swindle passengers by taking winding routes to take them to their destinations. Now, one needs to put the origin and destination on the map. Google map will give options to reach the destination – multiple routes under different modes of transport on real-time basis. Google will also give the approximate time to be taken by each mode of transport.

For a tourist, the system will come very handy to reach any place of interest from any point of the city. For an office-goer, it will be only a matter of few seconds to know the route he must take to reach his or her office. Eventually , one can also locate the bus he needs to catch on the map.

 

পরিবহণ ব্যবস্থাকে উন্নিত করতে গুগলের সাথে গাঁটছড়া বাঁধল রাজ্য

কলকাতার বাসিন্দাদের জন্য সুখবর। এখন থেকে সরকারি বাসের গতিবিধি চলে এলো হাতের মুঠোয়। বাড়িতে বসেই গুগল ম্যাপের সাহায্যে জানতে পারবেন যে কোনও সরকারি বাসের হদিস।
রাজ্য পরিবহণ দপ্তর গুগলের সাথে গাঁটছড়া বাঁধায় এবার আপনি ম্যাপের সাহায্যে আপনার ফোনেই জানতে পেরে যাবেন কোন সরকারি বাস কোথায় রয়েছে। এছাড়াও আপনার গন্তব্যের জন্য কোন বাসে ওঠা উচিত সেটাও বাতলে দেবে গুগল ম্যাপ। আপনার গন্তব্যে সব থেকে কম সময়ে কোন রুটে পৌঁছতে পারবেন সেটাও দেখে নিতে পারবেন।
এই  শহরে আগত পর্যটকদের খুব সুবিধা হবে। আর অসুবিধায় পড়তে হবে না তাদের। নিত্যযাত্রীদের দৈনিক যাতায়াতও হবে অনেক সহজ।

London-style transport coming to Kolkata soon

The London trip has inspired the Mamata Banerjee government to revolutionize public transport in Kolkata, starting with an Oyster-card type multi-access system.

The planned ‘Kolkata Transport Card’ (KTC) will be valid on all modes of mass transport in the city — private and state bus, tram, ferry and the Metro.

The transport department has already started working on the ‘integrated fare management and ticketing system’ that will champion public transport and ease congestion.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has put this on her priority list and the first technology exploration meeting will be held at Netaji Indoor Stadium at 5 pm on Friday.

The transport department is exploring the PPP mode with a revenue sharing model, say sources.

What is KTC?

  • The KTC would be a credit-card-sized stored value smartcard that can hold single tickets or period tickets.
  • Unlike London, where you have to buy separate Oyster cards for river transport and land transport, KTC will be valid for all modes of travel, said an official.
  • Like the Metro smartcard, passengers will have to touch it on an electronic reader while entering and leaving a bus, tram or ferry in order to validate a journey.
  • Cards can be topped-up by cash payment or online. The transport department aims to encourage its use by offering some free rides.
  • It will reduce the number of transactions at ticket counters and do away with paper tickets.
  • Since people won’t have to queue up for tickets, the card will lead to faster dispersal of commuters.
  • It will also improve revenue transparency as the fare automatically goes through a payment gateway and gets credited in the bus/tram/ferry-operator’s account.
  • It will also help you track bus arrival times through the same technology used by app-cabs now.