Tech-based solution for MTC’s bus bunching problem

CHENNAI: A common situation that MTC passengers face – while waiting at a bus stop for a long time, they’re greeted by two or more buses arriving together. This phenomenon, known as ‘bus bunching’, is a problem. MTC plans to address it by using IT-enabled transit system solutions soon.

With the phase-2 Metro Rail works underway in the city, causing major traffic congestion, passengers find themselves stranded for a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour due to bus bunching.

“I take the 28-route bus (Tiruvottiyur-Egmore) every day. Seeing two buses plying one after the other is a regular occurrence,” explained K Radhakrishnan, a resident of Tondiarpet. “After waiting for 30 minutes or more, I board the first bus that arrives at the stop. But within minutes, another 28-route bus will come behind it without any crowd. Isn’t this financially harmful for the corporation as well?”

To this, a senior MTC official clarified soon they would be able to provide a tech-based solution to bus bunching. Under the Chennai Intelligent Transport System (CITS), MTC would get various components such as a passenger information system, automatic vehicle location system, and depot management system including vehicle scheduling and despatch.

As part of the project, a high-accuracy GPS would be installed in the MTC fleet which would provide accurate real-time location of the buses, the official said, adding that inside the buses, a console would be installed in front of the driver which would allow two-way communication between the driver and the control centre.

“We’ll be able to communicate with the drivers from the control room. In case of bus bunching, we’ll be able to instruct the driver following another bus to go slowly to avoid bunching of service,” the official added. “Though the MTC has GPS in all the buses, it does not have the facility to communicate with drivers.”