The State Transport Authority (STA) in Odisha has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for development, management and operation of vehicle location tracking (VLT) application.
Under its ‘Vahan Suraksha’ model, the BSNL will develop, deploy, integrate and commission a VLT software for tracking and monitoring the vehicles covered under the project. The organisation will also develop mobile applications for various stakeholders and users and commission Geographic Information System (GIS) maps for vehicle location tracking systems.
A command control centre is being set up in Bhubaneswar to track the vehicles operating across the state. The 24×7 integrated command centre will use both Global Positioning System (GPS)-based vehicle tracking and the GSM/GPRS channel for triggering emergency alerts.
The Odisha government has made installation of VLT devices with panic buttons mandatory for all new commercial vehicles to be registered on or after January 1, 2023 and the vehicles registered on or before December 31, 2022 will have to comply by March 31, 2023.
Except auto rickshaws and e-rickshaws, all passenger transport vehicles, including both government and private buses, school and college buses and cabs/taxis will be equipped with VLT panic buttons for the safety of women and children. The government of India has approved vendors to fit VLT devices and panic buttons. The state will publish the standard operating procedure (SOP) for empanelment of these vendors within a few days.
Under the Nirbhaya scheme for women’s safety, the Central government has made vehicle location tracking system mandatory for public transport vehicles and goods vehicles to enhance security of women and children while travelling in public transport.
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