New App for Bengal Transport Department to Check Rash Driving

Kolkata : The West Bengal Transport Department is planning to deploy new technology to control rash driving by bus drivers across the state.

One app will be developed whereby each and driver will have to scan a QR code from his phone before he starts driving the bus assigned to him.

Immediately all the relevant information will be uploaded in the Transport Department portal where it will come under the IT scanner.

Subsequently if the driver is responsible for any minor accident, traffic violation or rash driving in competition with others buses, the information will become visible to the Transport Department. Accordingly, there will be an initial warning given to the driver. Repeated violations will lead to withdrawal of their licenses.

In the initial pilot project, this action will be started from Dumdum Airport to 12 government bus routes and 10 private bus routes across the city.

These routes include Airport – Howrah, Airport – Nabanna, Airport – Howrah Maidan, Barasat – Howrah, Garia – Rajchandrapur, Golf Green – Airport, Garia – Airport, Rajchandrapur – Karunamoyee, Howrah – Chhoto Finga, Karunamoyee – Barasat and Kudghat – Airport.

This was decided following a meeting between Kolkata Mayor and Bengal PWD Minister Firhad Hakim, Transport Minister Snehashish Chakraborty, State DGP Rajeev Kumar as well as representatives from Bidhannagar and Howrah Municipalities and Association of Private Bus Owners.

In addition, all these buses across these routes will be brought under the ambit of the Yatri Sathi apo whereby commuters can track the exact locations of the buses on a real time basis.

An LED display screen will be set up in each bus stand across these routes where commuters can get to know the precise arrival times of the buses.

“This app has been developed by the Calcutta Corporation in conjunction with the IT department of the Transport Ministry. This IT department will strictly monitor any traffic violation on these 12 routes through this app,” informed Hakim.

Chakraborty added that bus drivers on these 12 routes will be provided training before the app launch in the next 1-2 month. He also informed that there will be GPS connection between these buses so that the drivers can always be tracked.