Journalism of Courage
In a bid to enhance the transit experience of passengers, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) will soon transform its bus shelters into public utility units from where passengers will be able to buy magazines and milk products and also carry out banking transactions and purchase medicines.
The initiative to install Smart Bus Shelters (SBS) is aimed at transforming all bus stops in the Pune Metropolitan Area in order to increase the ridership by facilitating passengers with better service.
A PMPML officer said, âWaiting is a significant part of every transit trip. Well-designed bus stops enhance the transit experience, decrease perceived wait time and can contribute to increased ridership. We have planned the SBS at 1,500 locations. The bus stops will be environmentally-friendly.â
The project will be undertaken in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Each SBS will have a standardised design with a solar rooftop with a minimum of six hours of battery backup in addition to the regular single-phase electric supply. Only solar panels that generate a minimum of one kWH and a maximum of 5 kWH power would be installed. The bus stops will be under CCTV surveillance and have LED screens for advertisements, energy-efficient LED lighting, water supply connection, garbage bins and passenger facilitation centres (PFC).
The SBS will have CCTV cameras that are able to do Behaviour Analysis, Exception Detection and Face Detection. The cameras will have a local storage unit for storing a minimum of 30 days of footage and would be integrated with the existing or proposed new network of PMPML, PMC or Pune Police for analytics and storage.
The cameras will be capable of sending live data over the wireless network to the centralised control centre so that the same could be used for emergency response systems.
âThe PFC use will be limited to development of Automated Teller Machines, and small kiosks or shops for rehabilitation of street vendors. PMPML will collect the appropriate rent from the same. It is also likely to house ticket vending units, magazine stands, dairy shops, ATMs, medicine shops, take away units of eateries and other allied passenger services,â he said.
The LED screens will have changeable message signs providing real time information to passengers on information of the arrival time for the next bus, transit data like route number of the next bus and available seats. âThese are small but important things that improve the experience of bus travel,â said the officer.
The agency that will carry out advertisements on LED screens at bus shelters will not carry any information or graphic or other items relating to alcohol and tobacco products. Also, the advertisements should not have objectionable and indecent portrayal of people, products or any items. There should be no obscene advertisements showing vulgar pictures or the advertisements of drinks banned by the government. Advertisements of political nature will not be allowed without prior written permission of the authority.
