MTC buses will soon announce approaching bus stops like Metro

CHENNAI: Soon, MTC buses will have an on-board bus stop announcement system like in Chennai Metro Rail to help the passengers know the approaching bus stops.

The MTC has floated bids to install GPS based on-board bus stop announcement system with an audio advertisement in 500 city buses.

The bus stop announcement system would help the passengers travelling on the crowded buses during the peak hours and those who are new to the city need not rely on the conductors to know the approaching bus stops.

MTC had introduced the announcement system in about 50 buses in the first phase in December 2019, after doing a pilot on three bus routes - 101 (Tiruvottiyur-Poonamallee), 570 (CMBT to Kelambakkam) and 25G (Anna Square to Poonamallee).

The system got a good response from the passengers in Madurai where it was first introduced in the city buses. “We are now planning to extend it to 500 more buses in the next phase. We have invited tenders for the same, ” an MTC official said. The system would announce the next stop 100 meters ahead. “The bus stop announcement was part of the MTC plan to improve the passengers' amenities. Already, the Chennai Bus app has been introduced to help the passengers to track the buses in real-time, ” the official added.

In between the announcements, advertisements would be broadcast. “From the revenue generated from the advertisements, the contractor has to pay a licence fee to the MTC. This will be one of the non-fare box revenue to the MTC without making any investment on it, ” the official said, adding that this facility would be extended to all its buses in a phased manner. “Only the approved advertisements would be played on the buses,” the official noted.

The contractor will have to install the GPS device along with 6 speakers and an audio amplifier on each bus.