Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has backed a proposal to share data collected by its public transport platforms to help innovators come up with solutions to decongest Bengaluru.
Developers can now come up with solutions by accessing open data resources from Bengaluru’s three biggest mass mobility agencies — Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Bengaluru Metropolitan Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), and Department of Urban Transport (DULT) — which have agreed to open up real-time transit data.
This is under a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) challenge — Enroute — launched Wednesday by WRI India, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), and Villgro.
The challenge to startups will be to develop an integrated solution that enables commuters to access real-time updates on public transit schedules, plan their journey efficiently and pay for these services through a unified portal to make the experience more seamless and sustainable.
The top three startups will receive seed funding support and the opportunity to pilot their solution on-ground.
“There is a lot of data available in public transport that is not used to the maximum,” BMRCL Managing Director Maheshwar Rao said, adding that mobility agencies collect data but most of it is treated as ‘proprietary’, making it ineffective.
Like most other Indian cities, Bengaluru attracts migrant workers from all corners of the country and globe. But with growing opportunities, bigger challenges like crumbling and inadequate infrastructure, unregulated and unplanned growth, traffic, pollution and spending longer ‘unproductive hours’ while commuting to work than actually working, experts say.
In 2019, Bengaluru was adjudged to have the worst traffic among 415 cities in 57 countries by Netherland-based global provider of navigation, traffic and map products, TomTom.
Delays in completing key stretches of the Metro and lack of investments into increasing the public bus fleets have led to higher dependence on private vehicles. The city had 1.04 crore vehicles till March 2022 and poor connectivity, excessive focus on a poorly connected metro and not investing enough in public buses among other reasons have led to higher dependence on private transportation.
Professor Rajeev Gowda, ex-MP and former vice chairman of the Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission (KSPPC), said that being stuck in traffic and dealing with the stress of it is “hardly the way you build a productive economy”.
“Though the city and its economy grows, presenting better employment, educational and aspirational opportunities, it also leads to declining quality of life,” he added.
Pawan Mulukutla, Executive Director, Integrated Transport, clean air & hydrogen, at WRI India said that open data will lead towards a “smarter, more efficient and inclusive urban mobility”.
He added that currently there were 15 crore public ridership in India and open data solutions can lead to at least a 10 percent increase (1.5 crore).
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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