Suggestion to install cameras in buses yet to be implemented

KOCHI:  Though the Inspector General of Police, Kochi, had suggested installing cameras and Global Positioning System in all private buses operating inside the city limits, the private buses are yet to toe the line. In 2015, the IG had filed a report before the High Court including several recommendations. The report stated the presence of cameras will go a long way in ensuring proper behaviour by the bus crew. This will also help in ensuring safety and security of women and children apart from reducing the allegations of mistreatment by the student community against the private bus operators, like not allowing them to board the private buses. Such a move will help reduce crimes occurring inside buses, the report stated.

It also suggested installing GPS in every bus. Introduction of RFID bus tracking system will  help solve the problem of non-compliance time and route by the buses. An RFID tag with a unique serial number will be programmed in the software and will be attached to the windshield of each bus. RFID reader with GPS interface will be installed at all checkpoints.  One reader will be assigned to read the bus moving in one direction and another reader for the bus moving in the opposite direction. The reader will be programmed to send the bus tag ID to the remote server automatically through the GPS network. 

When a bus fixed with RFID tag passes by the punching station, the reader will automatically read the serial number of the tag.  This number will be sent to the remote server by the reader and the software running in the server will verify the serial number and the passing time will be recorded in the database. All the reports will be available at the RTO Office through Internet.

The use of GPS is the fastest and the most accurate way of obtaining reliable data about locations, the IG had stated in the report. GPS is also the cheapest way to identify accident/incident locations. The GPS data will be useful for road safety analyses like road accident locations and accident black spots.  This will help the Motor Vehicles Department and operators to tag the movement of the buses with proof, which will help in analysing and providing solutions and enforcement of permit conditions. 

The suggestion from the IG that a model project providing refresher training for drivers - which is being carried out in Malappuram district by the Institute of Driver Training and Research - can be tried out in Kochi has not materialised either. The institute is conducting refresher training programmes for drivers of light motor vehicles, soft skill development programmes for drivers and crash prevention courses. If all the drivers and other staff are mandatorily made to go through such training, their antecedents could be verified through the Police Department, which will go a long way in eliminating unwanted elements from the public service system.