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Setting sights on KSRTC, what say?
Written By silkboard - 27 August, 2010
Bangalore Praja Bus KSRTC Citizen Reports engagement Transportation public transport
We have discussed BMTC a lot. Tons of suggestions, some of which have gone in. Some of us here helped create the Bus Day event. We pulled lots of data out on their operations. etc etc. Wanted to check if we can set our sights on KSRTC now.
We have primarily been a Bangalore web site. Any BMTC issue will find critics and backers in no time. But KSRTC is different. Not much scrutiny, not that much interest, at least on the internet. Their operations have wider reach, and criticism or suggestions could have larger impact.
While we were dissecting BMTC over last 2-3 years, KSRTC has built a sizable e-tickets portal which could soon get a map based route search, it is getting lauded for using bio-deisel, and is trying to build intra-city services in several tier-2 cities of the state.
But yeah, wouldn't you expect KSRTC to put out only good peices of news on themselves. There may be issues there as well - biased connectivity, last mile issues (at a little larger level), overdone focus on connecting Bangalore over regional hubs, overused buses for lower tier services, badly planned hubs like TTMC - we will have to make things up for now as we just don't know enough about KSRTC.
Also, unlike for BMTC, KSRTC does have private buses for competition. How is that working out for road transport market? Is competition pushing KSRTC to do better? If yes, then do the numbers and operational stats show that? Does the competition have a level playing field?
How about we take a break from BMTC, and train the "guns" on KSRTC to see how it goes :) They are fairly open (like BMTC too has been), and will share info on themselves without requiring tons of useless RTIs (as is the case with BDA, Railways).
COMMENTS
Ravi_D - 31 August, 2010 - 16:52
... (for a meeting w/ KSRTC) as long as it is not right in the middle of a work-day.
Lunch break during KSRTC bus journey
Bheema.Upadhyaya - 16 September, 2010 - 03:43
I have seen people complaining that KSRTC drivers have some set-up with local hotel owners and thus passengers are forced to have lunch in non-standard hotels and during odd times. Does KSRTC have any published process to select hotels, food quality, break time, certification etc?
Murali, you are late by a year!
kbsyed61 - 27 August, 2010 - 08:57
Murali,
Looks like you missed the PRAJA post on KSRTC Mysore's Intelligent transport system.
http://praja.in/en/blog/kbsyed61/2009/07/31/project-report-intelligent-transport-system-ksrtc-mysore
This project report was prepared by Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune.
-Syed
silkboard - 27 August, 2010 - 03:33
When private operators are allowed, a first and fair question for a newbie (like me) to ask is - why does KSRTC exist in the first place, as in what's its purpose in life, welfare, business or something else?
- Does it operate with a welfare focus - to connect places that private operators won't?
- Does it exist to push as well as regulate private players?
- Is bus transportation not a big and sustainable business to get quality and large bus operators, thus keeping a place for KSRTC?
- What rules and restrictions exist for inter-city bus operators today?
I would want to understand these very basic :existence" questions first. Wonder if Mr Gupta himself can leave a few comments or a leading post to spur some interest in KSRTC within Praja community.
We need YI or need more comprehensive?
kbsyed61 - 27 August, 2010 - 14:43
Murali Sir,
All these days I avoided commenting on YI. But I think time has come to let it go. The way I understood YI is just a tool to know the arrival of the next bus or its current status. To me is a good feature but relies on the digital information from the Bus GIS location etc. To that extent I am sure it is useful and excellent tool.
Having engaged both BMTC and KSRTC (not at such close quarters like you), for good productive PT operation, they both need technology, systems and trained personnel to serve the people they should. When they have the technology to grab the info in real time, many wonderful tools and features can be implemented for public good.
For some reasons, both the management heads have not put thier faith in exploring ways to bring in the technology for digitizing the information (routes, schedules, fares, bookings, cancellations/additions) etc and making use of the data for operation, management and control.
It is sad that the entire Indian IT sector provides tech solutions to the world, but our local agencies are still debating to make use of it.
Take KSRTC itself. Their current website publishes the information based on the data which is not processed in real time from a centralized database, but from a static page. Praja team had done thorough analysis of their current state and suggested a phased plan to migrate to newer technology solution. They just took the suggestions for website UI changes, but ignored the real recommendations. One of reason quoted was that many of their booking agents has only dailup connectivity, therefore can not upgrade to faster connectivity. My take is their technical team couldn't grasp and comprehend the solution.
http://praja.in/en/blog/kbsyed61/2009/08/06/ksrtc-website-need-redefine-its-existance
BMTC is not ahead from KSRTC in this game. During the Bus Day campaign preparation, we struggled very hard to get the latest Volvo schedule. The reason was the information was not available in electronic format. All was available in paper form. No wonder their website displays information which is outdated, incomplete and stale. For useful purposes, data needs to be in realtime.
Therefore my suggestion to both BMTC and KSRTC is they should invest in getting the technology and systems to convert their paper based process and information into digital form. Once the information is avilable in electronic form, tools and applications can be built and integrated for public and management purposes including website, YI etc.
Imagine if BMTC can provide realtime information, tools like YI can be provided on mobile devices, phones, websites and info kiosks.
Syed
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