Govt disbands Transport panel, sets up its own

The concession agreement for implementation of AVLS on DTC and cluster buses was signed between the Transport department and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) in March 2010.

Despite the Cabinet committee’s decision to ensure GPS in every public transport vehicle after the December 2012 gangrape, the Transport department had been dragging its feet on ensuring the effective working of the Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVLS) at bus depots. As a result, the Delhi government on Tuesday disbanded the committee set up by the Transport department in 2013. Instead, a new eight-member committee has been formed with joint commissioner (operations), transport, as chairman. The new committee will review the functionality of the AVLS system installed at DTC’s Noida depot.

The concession agreement for implementation of AVLS on DTC and cluster buses was signed between the Transport department and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) in March 2010. The AVLS was installed on nearly 3,800 buses. Officials said the pace of installing AVLS improved after the 2012 gangrape case that took place on a bus.

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The Transport department had then constituted a committee to review the functionality of the software every 15 days and submit a report.

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However, the committee held only three meetings — on November 29, 2013, December 10, 2013 and December 23,2013.

“In November 2014, DIMTS submitted a report of its trial in Noida. The report said the software showed good performance from August to October 2014. DTC was also asked to submit its report but till date it has not submitted its comments,” an official said.

What is AVLS?

The Automatic Vehicle Location System allows real-time tracking of buses. This information is then used to provide passengers waiting at bus stops with the expected arrival time of buses. This information is displayed on LED boards at the bus stops as well as inside buses. The system operates on GPS.