Buses enter the smart lane in Srinagar
The commute duration will be noted in the trial period of the smart buses in Srinagar, which also aims to familiarise drivers with the routes and test the IT and camera systems on the go.
Smart electric buses equipped with air-conditioners (AC) and cameras were on Thursday introduced in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar.
The smart city authorities started the trial run of these buses on four major routes in the city — Dalgate-Nishat-Hazratbal, TRC-Iqbal Park-Airport, Old City through Khanyar and Karan Nagar-Soura.
The commute duration will be noted in the trial period, which also aims to familiarise drivers with the routes and test the IT and camera systems on the go.
Speaking of the same, municipal commissioner and Smart City Mission executive Athar Aamir Khan said, “These are electric and zero emission buses and are sustainable in cities like Srinagar. The objective of the trail run was to run them on our roads before they are formally inaugurated.”
People have often complained of overloading in the current public transport system mostly run by private operators in Srinagar. Also the city roads get deserted in the evenings causing much inconvenience to the commuters working late.
The Smart City Mission authorities have pressed 100 such buses to help mitigate the problems of lack of public transport without putting much burden on the environment with the aim to modernise the traffic management.
“These 100 buses will significantly improve the transportation here. Since these are electric buses, they won’t cause pollution and are clean,” Khan said.
The commissioner added that trial runs on all routes will be carried out in the coming days, adding, “We are hopeful that by next month, we should have the entire project for rollout once the entire fleet is here.”
Besides air conditioning, the buses boast of air curtains to maintain temperature, five cameras including in the front, back and near the driver’s seat. The driver also has a console through which he can check the doors. Passengers’ seats, meanwhile, are equipped with buttons to inform the driver of stoppages..
The buses also have a panic button connected to our command and control centre.
“These buses have seats reserved for ladies and every bus has live CCTV cameras. These buses are monitored by a command and control centre and there would be technical assistants in the bus as well… The design of the bus will be most beneficial for the women and elderly,” Khan said.
Smart City Mission authorities have framed an integrated Public Transport System plan for the city, showing which bus can run on what route and where would the stops, halting points, depot and charging points be.
Mobile app for tickets
Tickets and passes will be made available through a mobile app.
Speaking of the fare structure, Khan said, “It is similar to the existing structure. And the pass or card will be like you do in a metro. One can also tap the national common mobility card.”
Two versions of the buses — 9 metre and 12 metre — are being introduced.
“Smaller length buses will go into interiors like old-city and where the road width is less. Some buses will be connected with our major regional towns like Baramulla and Anantnag for regional connectivity,” he said.