64K public vehicles to be tracked realtime in Delhi; panic buttons also set up

The Centre provides partial financial assistance, the responsibility for execution and enforcement rests with the state government

New Delhi

All Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses have been equipped with GPS devices and panic buttons, which are integrated with the backend monitoring system at the CCC, the Centre said. (HT Archive)

A vehicle location tracking system (VLTS) and panic buttons are in the process of being installed in over 64,000 public service vehicles for real-time monitoring and emergency response for commuters, the Union government informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Responding to an unstarred question in Parliament, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said the system is being jointly implemented by the Centre and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). While the Centre provides partial financial assistance, the responsibility for execution and enforcement rests with the state government.

“All Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses have been equipped with GPS devices and panic buttons, which are integrated with the backend monitoring system at the CCC. The installation of VLTS devices has also been extended to other categories of public service vehicles operating in the city,” the reply added.

To be sure, there are 200,000 to 300,000 public vehicles operating in Delhi, and installation of such systems are mandated in all of them.

The minister said that the system will be monitored through a dedicated portal at the command and control centre (CCC) at the Kashmere Gate interstate bus terminal. The system allows authorities to track vehicular movement and respond in real time when an emergency alert is triggered.

So far, the Centre released ₹6.328 crore to the Delhi transport department in March 2023 to set up the CCC and backend application to operate the system. However, the ministry noted that the utilisation certificate for the funds is still awaited from the GNCTD.

According to information provided by the Delhi government, an older vehicle tracking system did not comply with AIS-140 standards, which are mandatory automotive industry norms for telematics devices in public transport vehicles. To address the issue, the GNCTD developed a new AIS-140 compliant backend system, along with a fresh monitoring infrastructure, through the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The updated system now forms the basis of the current VLTS and emergency alert framework in the Capital.

The panic button and GPS initiative has been under scrutiny in Delhi for several years. In 2019, allegations were made that panic buttons installed in buses and taxis were either non-functional or not connected to any real-time response mechanism. Subsequent investigations and audit findings pointed to gaps in implementation, including the absence of an operational backend system and inadequate monitoring infrastructure.