BMTC e-purse to be introduced next week
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Written By shas3n - 13 September, 2007
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Yes, it is almost there. In about a week, BMTC will introduce e-purse which can be used to pay for your BMTC tickets instead of cash. The first phase of the roll out will be experimental and this scheme will soon be expanded after KEONICS finds BOOT partners to implement the system. Ella OK but I have some quirks about the way it is implemented.
But before I start whining, here is some key information about the system.
- It uses a non-contact smart card
- Costs 65 Rs to own one and then you can 'top-up' or 'recharge' it in multiples of 50 Rs.
- In future, this card will also be usable not only for paying BMTC, but also for other public utilities and for general shopping with participating merchants.
Great! We really welcome this change and look forward to owning a e-purse soon.
Now, owing to my blogger instincts, I cant help but to crib a bit here. (Or lets say, suggesting a better way of implementation)
Based on this Indian Express article,
Every time a commuter boards the BMTC bus
all he has to do is to display the card in front of a local smartcard
reader installed in the bus and tell the destination to the conductor. He would then type the travel amount which will be deducted from the card, Tripathi explained.
So it is one more example of automatic but not quite !! When you have an electronic system, should you not aim for squeezing all the flexibility out of the system? All you are doing now is getting rid of currency as a medium of financial transaction and using plastic money instead. No big deal.
Lets have a look at a comparable system in Singapore (my knowledge is a few years outdated, so correct me if there are more progresses there).
This is how the system works
- You have a smart card that you have to purchase and top up (Identical to what we will have in Bangalore)
- You board the bus and hold your card against the reader ( Identical to what we will have in Bangalore)
- The reader displays your card balance and makes note of the stop (or stage) where you boarded the bus. No deductions are made at this stage.
- When you alight, you show your card at the reader at the exit door and now (since the system knows which stop you boarded), based on the distance you travel, a deduction is made.
- If some smart guy tries to alight the bus without showing his card to the reader (this is possible, the exit doors are not monitored), the next time he boards any bus, he will be automatically charged a penalty!!
- If you are continuing a journey from another bus/train, the system already knows you and gives you a suitable discount.
Does this system not make more sense? No extra investment to what is already being planned. Some modified software will do this job. They already have a GPS system on many buses so they can link this to automatically recognise the fare stages or in the worst case the driver can push a button after every stage.
The advantages
- Role of the conductor is eliminated and thats a lot of save manpower.
- The driver concentrated mostly on driving and not on calculating the fare for each passenger.
- Integrates great with Metro and other services when they are ready.
- Easy to implement complicated tariff system (like treating break journeys as continuous one etc).
I think while they are at it, they should implement a system like this rather than the simple one they have in mind. That one is not going to solve many problems. Given the fact that it will take some time to get the public educated and trusting for this kind of a change, they would rather do it in one go than two.
Incidentally, the news articles on this do not mention where we can get the cards recharged. I presume they will have machines at selected locations but would be great if they can provide a facility at major bus stops where people can use cash/cards to charging this thing up.
Based on a detailed interaction with BMTC and with Tripathy...BMTC doesn't get more than 3 out of 10. That is like Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid scoring just a 30 or 40 every third match. I wonder why we tend to mollycoddle our public utilities like BMTC and don't demand exacting standards, even when we have alternatives from the private sector. Are we too frustrated, cynical or scared or what?
1. BMTC has brought new initiatives, swanky buses and stops etc. to their credit. On an objective appraisal though, BMTC hides lots of muck underneath and worse tries to cover it with its well-crafted propaganda.
2. In our study and validated by others, we found that the 500 odd GPS boxes were almost lying defunct as the data was just dumped and later they have even stopped downloading it. The main problems were that BMTC has failed to standardise even the start time of its buses, or what it should do if the driver skips stops or makes unscheduled stops, which were both rampant.
3. They have come up with convoluted solutions even as in spite of advice and their own promise, they have failed to come up with a printed bus time table pocketbook and take contingent actions to ensure that buses run on schedule.
4. Instead they come up with a slothful and highly inappropriate design of the proposed "Park and Ride" system in Bangalore.
The "Park and Ride" as referred to in your article leaves a number of basic questions unanswered. Bus stations designed as swanky malls may look good in picture. Bus stations where people can drive in with their petrol/diesel car/ 2-wheelers and can also shop and return home may also sound impressive.
The problem is that it overlooks the primary function of a "Park and Ride" System. Ask yourself following questions and also pose it to the fleet of babus and agencies like RITES who put a stamp of "expert" approval on it.
a. How suitable are petrol car/ two wheelers for feeder trips (<3 kms.) to the proposed Park & Ride hubs?
b. What will be time taken to access, park and the waiting time to board a bus to a given estination? At what load factors ?
c. Will this be more attractive than a direct car/2-wheeler trip?
d. How much do user pay for parking?
e. What will be the effect of localised pollution in the hub area and inside the parking building?
f. How do pedestrians, bicyclists access the hub with safety and with "respect" ?
Ref: Brace up for Park & Ride at www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jun242007/city200706249158.asp
Regards,
Vikash
soopar analysis. agree. again, it's not about going hifi but about automation. complete, deep automation.
recharge @ website also. how 'bout a look at their website?
'half baked', yeah that is the word.
Why is that those who are in control seem to be not getting things that are obvious to us? Why dont they understand that piecemeal approach wont work and the whole system needs to be designed in one go?
I agree with what Vikash said too. If they go ahead with those shop and ride things as they are currently designed, they will solve no problem at all.
I, honestly cant understand why there is such a dearth of a broader perspective with those in control. After all, aren't they the one who are supposed to know better?
Is there a feedback mechanism that we can forward this post to?
-Shastri
Hi Tarle S: There are no "current", "feasible" alternatives to petrol "on a platter" or "lollypops". The alternatives will only emerge as a property when we can see the whole system and design for it, as Sastri suggests. This is hard work as much as a specialised skill of systems thinking. Ironically, experts argue that it does come to us naturally but most of us lose it to the formal education and corporate process. It certainly seems to be "decimated" in the selection and training process of many of our bureaucrats, as the case of BMTC suggests.
#1.
a. petrol at higher fuel economy and higher payload efficiency (people or goods)
b. substituting petrol run vehicles for "short trips" by leaner, more energy efficient vehicles running on batteries preferably charged using solar panels and optimal utilisation of human power
c. A basket of fuels - CNG, LPG, biofuels, biodiesel, hydrogen fuel cells/ wind/tidal power to produce hydrogen - which can only be developed if the govt. agrees to create an "energy transition fund" which factors the cost of transition into the present price of petrol as a depleting resource.
#2. An effective way to phase out petrol vehicle is to delink ownership from usage. The utilisation, inertia and whims and fancies are so high in case of private vehicle. In comparison on-demand vehicle service provided by an "airlines-like roadlines service provider will catalyse the phasing out process and bringing in energy-efficient - hybrid/PHEV as well as space-efficient vehicles.
#3. Violation of pedestrian and cycling rights in most Indian cities are a reflection of the diabetic state of mind of our bureaucracy, much before it afflicts the body. Lack of walking and cycling has certainly sucked out lots of juice from the bureaucrat's lives, which they tend to compensate by petrol power, which comes free to them. In my studies, bureaucrats, as a category, are the biggest guzzlers of petrol/diesel in the country and who look down upon walking and cycling. The state of affairs is only a reflection of their sick minds and body. It shows up in the automobile-dependent land-use in Greater Noida in Delhi NCR, recently built for the babus and by the babus and of the babus, serviced by an 8-lane expressway, 23 km. long to reach this township.
Regards,
Vikash
#1. what are current feasible alternatives to petrol?
#2. how do you phase out existing petrol vehicles?
how to meaningfully improve pedestrian and cycle safety in BLR?
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