Bengaluru: After citizens came together to solve their own long lasting problem of identifying modes of last mile connectivity from metro stations in the city, five innovative solutions were launched in the city on Saturday.
The Station Access and Mobility Program (STAMP) had invited smart solutions from citizen groups, entrepreneurs and academic institutions to participate in the prelims of the challenge in May earlier this year from which five innovative ideas were selected and later mentored with access to real time data from BMRCL.
The winning teams, as part of the programme jointly organised by BMRCL, World Resources Institute (WRI) India, Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC), have been awarded research grants to implement last mile connectivity solutions to Namma Metro.
The finalists, including three start ups, one student group, and a citizen group, demonstrated their pilots scooter and motorbike rentals, services for carpooling, parking aggregation and reservations, on demand auto rickshaws, and a transport accessibility index that evaluates the quality of access to metro station, to commuters at Baiyappanahalli and SV Road Metro Stations.
Launching the initiative, BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “We are a step closer to integrating metro services with all other modes of transport to resolve long-lasting connectivity issues.”
Pawan Mulukutla, Head-Integrated Mobility, WRI India, said over 600 million man-hours are lost in the city every year due to congestion. “Last mile connectivity is a necessity and comfortable urban mobility is necessary,” he said.
