Intelligent Transit Management Systems for Bus Rapid Tra

Mithika Rachel Mathew

UM4002-1

As part of the service operations management studio, the Bus Rapid Transit System of Ahmedabad was studied. The Intelligent Transit Management Systems are a core sector which improves operational efficiency. This project exmaines the current functioning of the system, identifies gaps in the process and system,and puts forward recommendations.

Report Content

ITMS is an important system within the Ahmedabad BRTS. As the SPV works on a services model, even the design, development, supply, implementation, operation, maintenance, and management of ITMS are contracted to a consortium. The latest contract was initiated in 2017, and funded by the Smart CIty Mission.

Even the staff that handle the daily functioning of ITMS are of the contractor. There is thus a lack of ownership and know-how of the system and the data generated through it among the core SPV. In addition, this private contractor receives access and handles data which is valuable to the city government.

ITMS is enabled through various components which facilitate collection, transmission, archiving, analysis, and utilisation of operations data. These include various software sub-systems, hardware components. All of this is monitored at a Central Command Centre.

Various devices and their communcation with the larger system.

Devices at the bus stations are connected to the Optical FIbre Network. The ticketing devices- Handheld Terminal and Point of Sale machines are handled the most, and break down the most. The service levels are often in critical breach due to lack of spares, and immediate repair of devices.

Devices on-board the bus include the pairing of Driver Display Unit and On-Board unit, which contain GPS and GPRS. Failure in these devices leads to serious inaccuracy in bus-related data collection. Service levels are in critical breach due to frequent failure of devices, as well as due to the fact that these devices are only repaired when buses return to the depot in the evening.

Passenger Information Systems on board are very useful for travellers, but nearly half the existing devices are malfunctioning as they are not covered under the current O&M contract, and have crossed the warranty period. Here too, service levels are breached.

As devices form the root of the entire system, each one needs to be kept track of and attended to as necessary. A solution for this could be to incorporate a Device Maintenance Managemnt module in the Enterprise Management System.

In the Depot Management System, only the Roster Management module is currently used by the Bus Operators. There is no mechanism to ensure the entire software is used. A solution for this could be to include a clause in the bus operator contract, mandating use and regular update of these modules. An additional clause could mandate sharing relevant reports from AJL with the operator to improve internal operations efficiency.

The ITMS system has been put into place to ensure more efficient operations. However, there is a lack of ownership within the SPV of the systems and processes of ITMS. To promote data-driven governance, a model needs to be put into place to ensure SOPs for use of systems and utilisation of data at every level of the organisation. A data governance charter is suggested for this, as a starting point.