A website and an app will be launched, where commuters will find details such as ETA of buses, routes and trip fares. Tickets can also be booked in advance.
Ahead of the expected launch of the Gurgaon city bus service in August, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials said they would launch a mobile application and a website that would offer commuters details such as Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) of buses, routes and trip fares. Tickets, too, can be booked in advance.
In addition, officials said that once the proposed common utility smart card, similar to the Octopus Card in Singapore, is approved and introduced, residents will be able to recharge it through the website or the mobile app.
“Both the website and the app will be functional in the next three to four months, and will be available for service around the time the first batch of buses are introduced to the city,” said V Umashankar, CEO of GMDA.
The common utility card will allow commuters to use it for the bus and the Metro, and for purchasing items from localised retail stores. However, if this card is not introduced at the time of the launch, the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) will offer its own smart cards for making travel easier for commuters.
On January 31, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who chaired the GMDA's first meeting since its inception, revealed that the project was facing a delay and that 200 buses would be introduced from August 15, rather than on the earlier deadline of March-end.
Multiple factors led to GMDA missing its March deadline. While on the one hand, the four concessionaires for the project (TATA, Volvo, Ashok Leyland and JBM) were selected as late as November 2017, on the other, organising a sufficient number of low-floor CNG buses proved challenging, as these buses are manufactured only on order.
GMDA officials also said the project was facing a delay because the AC buses were awaiting regulatory parameters, which needed to be laid out by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH).
Overall, 500 buses will operate on city roads from August. Around 40 per cent of the buses will be air-conditioned, which will be introduced from 2019.
The bus service will be initially shared by three civic bodies. GMDA, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) will have 50 per cent, 40 per cent and 10 per cent of the shares respectively.
Once fully launched, officials anticipate a daily ridership of over 3 lakh passengers. Sites for bus depots at sectors 10, 53, 54 and 72 have been finalised. Bus shelters are also being developed.
