Shah Nawaz Kathia
It reduces 85 per cent of the air population and road congestion, it also improves the productivity of the commuters, if someone wants to do some important work while travelling with public transport, it is quite simple to do because in public transport commuters remain free during the whole journey.Apart from the merits public transport system has a few demerits, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan, it can be considered ineffective, overcrowded, unhygienic, time taking, unrealizable, and impassable, when we talk about the public transportation system in Pakistan, the first thing that comes into our mind is jammed traffic, overcrowded, unhygienic and time tacking transport system which is being utilized by the lower-class segment of the society. There are a lot of hurdles which are being faced by the commuters while using public transport in many developing countries alike, the bus or train’s late timetable, eve – teasing and pickpocketing are two of the most prominent problems.
Apart from this, there are also a few other issues related to the public transport system which include, rude behavior of transport management, fluctuating fares, favoritism, loud music in the transport and plying movies etc. These all issues are leading wealthier passengers to choose private transportation instead of public transport and their choice to get rid of the aforementioned irritating problems also causing numerous problems for them, the environment and the community as a whole.These all issues associated with public and private transport systems can easily be solved through proper planning and with the help of technology. The Artificial Intelligence-based ITS-based Intelligence Transport System is being widely utilized in developed countries and it has been found quite useful and beneficial. An intelligent transportation system is an advanced and innovative technology-based application which has been developed to provide advanced services about various modes of transportation to control and manage traffic-related issues and makes users enable to remain updated about the route and time and also make them safer, coordinated and smarter.A Vehicle tracking by GPS / AVL / AVI Solution GPS (Global Positioning System) can provide real-time vehicle tracking per vehicle, Movement of each bus, the length of trip, time duration, stopping time per stop and the complete movement of the bus/vehicle could easily be monitored.
The system can then inform the control system whether the bus is running at the right time or not. GPS Systems can also help to control instances of eve-teasing and pick pocketing as the driver can inform the control room and the police about the case specifics with a mere click of a button.Another technology namely, Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) can also be used to solve many problems associated with the public transport system. AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) or AVI (Automatic Vehicle Identification) are the technologies that track transit vehicles in real-time using GPS, and read number plates using RFID and Image Processing.An RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is used to uniquely identify vehicles/letters. Information about the vehicle is conveyed to the control center. Cognitive Services can be used to identify and recognize vehicles in seconds. Time control and Traffic Signal Priority is a major ITS inciting complacence towards public transport. TSP seeks to provide priority to public transportation at traffic signals by reducing red time and increasing green time.
TSP system is integrated with AVL frequently during hiked priority demands public transport is given ‘ zero – wait for priority at times. Green light time phases are extended or truncated sufficiently quickly that the light is always green when the vehicle arrives. Currently, Sindh Government has initiated Sindh intra-district people’s bus service project in Karachi and Larkana to make this project one of the most successful projects, it would be necessary to learn and implement the successful models of developed nations like Italy. Italy’s public transport system is among the best public transport systems in the world. The Italian public transport system is well connected with each other and is up to date too, the commuters can get up-to-date information with one click and it is also quite easy to track the buses, trains, trams or ferries by using a smartphone. I would request the authorities concerned to ensure the implementation of AVL, GPS and other forms of the most advanced technologies in their future plans so that commuters can enjoy the services and feel proud while travelling.
