Kochi: The Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) has backed out of the proposed deal with the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) to set up Wi-Fi and GPS facilities in low-floor AC buses plying though the city.
The development will delay the facilities that was originally scheduled January next by at least three to four months.
“Yes, we have decided to install and operate the facilities directly instead of availing the service of KMRL. Anyway we are paying Rs 400/ bus monthly to the BSNL to provide the GPS (Global Positioning System). This way we could reduce the installation cost,” said a senior KURTC officer.
Earlier, the KMRL set up Wi-Fi services in two AC low-floor buses – the Alapuzha-Infopark and the Kottayam-Ernakulam AC low-floor services — on an experimental basis.
“We have succeeded in facilitating free uninterrupted Wi-Fi services in buses. We used a Wi-Fi router with eight simcards. The GPS service too could be provided without much work. However, KSRTC has now backed out saying they will directly install the facilities,” said a KMRL official.
Upon installation of the GPS system, commuters can locate the buses, know details like vacant seats while the officials can track the bus speed. A GPS control room will be set up so that buses can be connected with GPS system installed in them.
“GPS is installed in over 200 buses. We had even planned to launch the facility on November 4 last, but had to postpone it due to technical issues,” the KURTC official said.
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