NEC Technologies India together with NEC Corporation has implemented intelligent transportation management system (ITMS)/ automatic fare collection system (AFCS) for BRT system in Ahmedabad with Smart City Ahmedabad Development Limited (SCADL). NEC in consortium with nCode Solutions (A GNFC Company) was awarded this project by SCADL to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing bus rapid transit (BRT) system and city bus service with the help of most advanced cutting edge global technologies with the objective of providing seamless, fast, reliable, safe and convenient public transportation system to the citizens of Ahmedabad. This is one of the many techno smart initiatives being taken by SCADL to make Ahmedabad a truly citizen friendly and world class smart city.
The system for BRT is now fully operational while the service for the city buses (AMTS) is expected to be operational in the following month. BRTS and AMTS are the lifelines of Ahmedabad serving 150 thousand BRTS passengers and 600 thousand AMTS passengers daily. This ITMS project will upgrade 230 BRT buses, 158 BRT stations, 850 AMTS buses and 11 major city bus stations. NEC has implemented many world class cutting edge technologies like automatic fare collection system (AFCS), automatic vehicle location system (AVLS), passenger information system (PIS), vehicle planning scheduling & dispatch (VPSD) and depot management system (DMS), apart from dedicated Mobile App and Web Portal for both BRT and city bus service, and also entrusted with the operations and maintenance of all these systems for next 7 years.
Use of advanced ICT and cashless services in the city are the two main components of the smart city projects envisaged by the GoI. Under this new system being implemented by NEC, passengers can use smart phones and Rupay based common mobility payment smart cards for fare payment at BRT stations and inside the city buses. Automatic fare gates equipped with validators at BRT stations will ensure most convenient and foolproof access to the BRT buses for authorized commuters.
Advanced GPS tracking units installed in all buses will enable the real time tracking and monitoring of all these buses from central command center. Real time PIS system installed in buses and at bus stations will provide accurate and timely information regarding expected time of arrival (ETA) of next bus, announcement and display of next bus stop and many similar useful information to commuters.
Other advanced systems like VPSD and DMS will help bus operation agencies to optimize their resources and assets resulting in overall operational efficiency of the public transport system in Ahmedabad.
“Efficient and sustainable public transport system equipped with modern technology such as ITMS/ AFCS with cashless payment is the need of the hour in view of smart city mission of the Govt. of India. We hope that ITMS and AFCS systems implemented by NEC will make our bus operations more efficient and help us in providing world class public transport service to commuters in Ahmedabad. We have also integrated the Rupay based Janmitra card with AFC system by NEC making it convenient for commuters to travel seamlessly across BRT and AMTS buses. In future we plan to extend the reach of this card to other modes of public transport in the city like taxis and Metro as well,” said Rakesh Shankar, IAS and CEO Smart City Ahmedabad Development Ltd.
“In order to satisfy growing demand, NEC will utilize its extensive experience with traffic systems, both domestically and internationally, to introduce and integrate a variety of traffic systems to comprehensively support the achievement of a safer and more accurate bus service in Ahmedabad,” said Takayuki Inaba, Managing Director, NEC Technologies India.
