Rajkot: Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) won an award for taking precautions regarding Covid-19 in its public transport service. The award is conferred by ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA) at the 13th Urban Mobility India Conference, 2020.
RMC received the award for commendable initiative in the category for innovation undertaken in public transport during Covid-19 said Rajkot mayor Bina Aacharya.
A special purpose vehicle Rajkot Rajpath Limited (RRL) is managing the city bus and BRTS bus services. RRL had sent a presentation in the conference regarding the bus service during the pandemic in the city. Aacharya said, “The expert penal of the ministry reviewed the presentation sent by RMC and awarded us.”
RRL had prepared an intelligent traffic management system (ITMS) software during lockdown. This software helped RRL to implement a system called ‘vehicle planning scheduling and dispatch’. The system provided bus service only on specific routes as per requirement. RMC is also going to implement an automated fare collection system and install electronic ticketing machines enabling conductors to collect money from digital cards or a UPI based system.
The staff also took steps like regular sanitization of buses, providing hand sanitizers for passengers and ensuring that all involved with the service including passengers and staffers wear masks. RMC buses are running with 75 percent capacity currently. There are 90 city buses and 10 BRTS buses in operation.