Mumbai buses to have AI upgrade: How it helps passengers

The iconic BEST(Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking) buses in Mumbai are all set to revolutionise the public transport system by integrating bus services with Google Maps. Passengers would be able to locate the 2900 buses and 402 bus routes that function under BEST, the public transport wing of the Mumbai Corporation, with the support of Google Maps. Besides the buses, the metro, local trains and taxis will be connected to this system. BEST General Manager SVR Sreenivas said the system would officially launch within a month. Currently, there isn’t any facility for passengers to track the buses or learn the routes.

The state government signed an agreement with Google last month as part of the government’s initiative to launch Artificial Intelligence in the public transport sector. When the project is on, the passenger can get details of the best available routes and bus, metro, train and taxi options as soon as they type the name of where the journey begins and the destination. The passenger could then consider these options and choose the best and easiest mode of transport. The system will particularly be helpful for those new in the city. Instances of taxi drivers tricking unassuming passengers or those newly arrived in the city into paying exorbitant taxi fares, when one could travel around the city in a BEST bus for just Rs 6, have become rampant.

Advantages of BEST
The authorities say incorporating this system would help reduce the duration between two buses running on the same route. Besides, the passengers could collect data about the multiple modes of transport, routes that aren’t busy, timings when traffic is less, etc, with the help of Google Analytics. Meanwhile, buses could be newly added to a route if required, or they could be removed as well. The choice of modes of travel for city dwellers will change drastically when new roads are opened, and the construction of the new metro and local train routes is completed. More than seven million people rely on local trains, and three million use the BEST buses for daily commutation.

AI to lead the way
Imagine that a person needs to travel from Borivali to Lower Parel. When you enter these two places in Google Maps, it will recommend the various routes and the fastest modes of travel. The first instruction would be to take a BEST bus from Borivali to the nearby metro train station. You might then be asked to take the metro or the local train to another bus station, where you could catch a BEST bus to the destination. Depending upon the traffic and the routes, you may also be urged to hire an autorickshaw. Meanwhile, the authorities hope this amazing technology will be a game changer in the public transport sector of Mumbai.