The Delhi government has joined hands with tech giant Google
to launch a system that will enable commuters to access real-time information
about buses, such as the arrival and departure times, and their routes. "Google
has teamed up with the Delhi Transport Ministry to show real-time bus
information. Users will get an estimation of how long their trip is going to
take, and if their bus is delayed. Google Transit will automatically update the
times in line with the new conditions," said Delhi transport minister
Kailash Gahlot. "Status of around 3,000 buses is live. More DTC buses will
be integrated soon," he added. The minister said that Delhi has now joined
the league of global cities that provide seamless, real-time information about
public transport. "People will now be able to plan their journeys to the
minute," he said. The minister expressed hope that the collaboration will
encourage several other transit apps to tap into the open data portal of the
transport department and create innovative solutions to make Delhi's public
transport system the default choice for everyone.
Once the project kicks off, static and dynamic location data
of Delhi buses will be available for passengers in real-time. A commuter will
get information of all the routes and bus stops, all bus arrival and departure
times in real-time and by bus numbers. "There will also be updates on any
delays. This will cut waiting time and in turn reduce crowding at bus stops and
increase accountability of public buses," a statement by the Delhi
government read. Ramesh Nagarajan, the director of product management at Google
expressed hope for the projects. "We are glad to work with the Delhi
transport ministry in launching real-time transit information for the DIMTS
agency on Google Maps. We are constantly exploring ways to make the Google Maps
experience more useful and we hope the people of Delhi will benefit from having
access to this information in making smart commuting choices especially in
these times," he said.
In 2018, the Delhi government had published Open Transit
Data with the technical support of Indraprastha Institute of Information
Technology, Delhi to provide real-time data, including geo-coordinates of all
bus stops, route maps, timetables as well as the real-time GPS feeds of bus
locations, that could be used by third-party app developers and researchers.
0 Comments