The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : RTC mulls public announcement system in buses

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 27, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

RTC mulls public announcement system in buses

S. Sandeep Kumar

Passengers will be alerted about stages

HYDERABAD: It is almost a daily ritual for bus commuters in the city to scuffle and squabbling their way out while alighting a service in the city. Caught in the pile of bodies, most of the commuters particularly the elderly and the infirm are forced to alight the bus before or after their destined stage.

But this is now set to become a thing of the past with the APSRTC city region proposing to establish an automated public announcement system in the buses.

In advance

Equipped with a sensor, the automated voiceover system will announce the stage names minutes before the bus reaches there besides the scheduled time and arrival time of the service operating on a particular route.

Big help

A proposal to this effect has been forwarded to the corporation management recently. APSRTC officials say the system would aid both commuters and the corporation in a big way.

"It will make commuting easier, especially for strangers. A commuter can prepare to alight the bus well in advance following the announcements. On the other hand, it will help us monitor the services much more closely, be it on maintenance of time in each of the trips or the services rendered by the bus conductors and drivers," explains an official.

The system will be introduced in some services initially as a pilot study to test its efficacy.

"Presently we are discussing the cost component and benefits of the equipment and a final decision will be taken on the proposal in a week," said RTC Executive Director (Operations) B.R. Anand.

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