CHENNAI: Following complaints of garbage compactors and lorries deviating from their routes and skipping collection points, Chennai corporation plans to establish a dedicated vehicle monitoring centre to track erring vehicles. Although the civic body has been using the GPS enabled vehicle tracking system (VTS) to track the movement of garbage vehicles over the years, a dedicated monitoring centre was missing, a Chennai corporation source said.
It is also learnt that the civic body has issued fresh bids inviting service providers to fit and operate GPS devices in its fleet of 685 vehicles including 144 HMV compactors. According to the tender document, the Chennai corporation has directed the bidders to provide management information system (MIS) reports and create a web application for collating and publishing the data to existing Chennai corporation server.
GPS-based movement monitoring system is identified as a tool to ascertain the service. For this, the civic body plans to establish a monitoring centre for the vehicle movement, the document said. Even though the civic body has been monitoring its fleets for years, the efficiency of monitoring system had been in
question as some drivers flout routes and schedules. “We have adopted the monitoring system after effortful pilot measures. A dedicated monitoring centre would help in effective coordination of solid waste management in the city,” a civic body official said.
The official also added that the contract period of earlier VTS service provider ended recently. “Fresh tender has been issued to provide online vehicle tracking system using GPS at a cost of Rs.2.42 crore,” the official said. The GPS system would help in generate stoppage reports and would send alerts if the vehicles skip waypoints. “The GPS also will control unauthorized and unscheduled stoppages,” the official said.
