With the revamped feature of the ‘One Delhi’ app, commuters will now be provided with a more accurate estimated time of arrival (ETA) of Delhi Transport Department and cluster buses.
The app launched in 2021 by the Delhi government, with the vision to provide an integrated platform for buying tickets and passes online, locate buses and nearby EV charging points and battery swapping stations, and help assist trip planning, often lagged in providing its users with the accurate ETA of buses.
Taking note of the difficulties faced by the commuters, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and the DTC, encouraged the creators of the app to build a better system for the smooth functioning of the app.
One of the chief researchers, Professor Pravesh Biyani of IIIT, Delhi, said the updated feature is a few steps away from providing absolutely accurate information, but is much better than the previous one.
“Earlier the app would show that the bus is five minutes away but it would end up reaching the user’s bus stop after 15 minutes. With the help of the new model, the app will now give an update to the user every minute,” said Mr. Biyani.
Further, he added that the earlier technique used for estimating the ETA of the buses would rely on the speed of the buses. “This method did not account for the delays caused due to traffic congestion and hence, amounted to inaccurate ETA updates,” said Mr. Biyani. The new model will take inputs from the last bus on the same route and take into account traffic congestion that the next bus might face and accordingly show the ETA to the commuters.
Currently, more than 2 lakh use the app, with more than 1.5 lakh people using the app for ticketing purposes. Over 30,000 people use the app to plan their trips. Apart from giving minute-wise updates on the buses, the bus stops in Delhi are also expected to get digital boards displaying ETA of buses.
Published - June 16, 2023 12:58 am IST
