Sensors to help prevent bus service revenue leakage

Nagpur: With a view to curb revenue leakage, Nagpur Municipal Corporation has installed automatic sensors for passengers boarding Aapli Bus.
“As a pilot project, one Red Bus operator has installed a sensor on one bus. The sensor will count passengers boarding as well as alighting the bus. This will enable the NMC to cross check the numbers with ticket machine transactions,” stated a senior official from NMC’s transport department. If successful it would help NMC improve revenue collection from its bus service.

At present, NMC uses mostly relies on surprise raids by its squads and physically counting the passengers. NMC recorded 1,741 cases of revenue leakage by its conductors and also terminated services of a large number of conductors for it. Still, the civic body has failed to curb the practice by conductors to allow ticketless travel.

The trial began on Wednesday. NMC is hoping use of sensor will be cheaper and more reliable than manual counts by its flying squads. The sensors cost Rs 55,000 and have been installed at both rear and front doors of the bus. “They can count passengers even when they are getting on and off simultaenously,” the official said.

He said a single sensor was able to count even if a wide door allowed two passengers to get on/off at the same time. Conductors on buses with sensors would not be able to say there were less passengers.

Another advantage will be to assess demand accurately at each stop and on each route and form optimum time table for the city bus services. This would eventually help improve city’s public transport system.