New Town, the fast growing satellite city of Kolkata with sky-kissing buildings has got a new gem in its crown, a smart bus stop. Earlier this month, the smart bus stop was inaugurated for the public that comes with a host of facilities for the convenience of the commuters.
Located on the major arterial road in front of the Coal India building in New Town, the Wi-Fi enabled smart bus stop became functional from 5th November. The smart bus stop has brightly lit electronic display boards to display routes and timings of the buses. This is similar to the flight information boards seen in airport terminals.
The electronic boards will show the timings of the government transport department’s buses that are majorly equipped with GPS tracking chips. With the real-time movement data provided by these GPS tracking chips, the software on board the central system will generate route and timing related information for use at the smart bus stop. The software will also take into account the travel time of the bus on a particular route, traffic congestion related data etc.
There is a map of the surrounding area at the smart bus stop displaying the routes and the exact location of the bus with a prominent market. This will not only help the commuters who want to catch the bus, but also who will get off those buses.
A map of the area around the bus stop with a prominent marker displaying the exact location of the bus stop is also there so that those who get off buses can walk to their destinations easily.
Also, the smart bus stop has a night café to boost the security of the commuters. The snacks counter along with the smart bus stop that comes selling snacks and functions as a night café and a newspaper stand. This makes sure the stretch doesn’t look desolate after sunset like many other roads of New Town.
The smart bus stop has been developed with an aim to cater the commuters and also to serve as a hangout place as well. The smart bus stop is also claimed to be creating opportunity for income generation and provide a feel safe vibe to the women commuters during night. There are two more such new-age bus stops on card.
The New Town authorities have been banking on cafes and eateries to make the satellite city livelier and safer, especially for women at night. The city houses offices of a large number of information technology firms and a host of workers from these offices are women.
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