Trials on to check new tech for safer bus travel in UP

Time of India

23-06-2025

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Lucknow: Everyday travel in UP's buses will become safer and more comfortable with technology enabling live counting of number of passengers boarding or de-boarding buses and issuing alerts in case of a yawning and sleepy driver.
This system will be in place very soon. Currently, the on-board unit controller with multiple functionalities is under trial in two AC buses plying on the Lucknow-Delhi route for over one month, and the results have been up to the mark, officials said.
It may take another fortnight of trial before the private firm conducting it submits its report to the UP state road transport corporation (UPSRTC). The use of the on-board unit controller will be the first for any SRTC in the country.
Multiple cameras will be installed inside a bus, along with a control panel in front of the driver's seat where the feed from all the cameras will play. The automatic passenger counting (APC) camera will keep track of passengers entering and exiting the bus, as it can judge the moving direction of passengers.
"One of its benefits is that it can let people know the number of vacant seats in a bus live to those waiting at stations, besides enabling analysis and statistics of passenger flow data," said sources involved with the trial.
The advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) camera, on the other hand, will alert the driver on multiple safety parameters, such as front-end collision when a vehicle is detected ahead at a configured distance, safety distance monitoring, lane departure warnings and pedestrian detection.
The on-board unit controller also includes a driver monitoring system (DMS), which features a 'Dog Watch', a small display unit the size of a table clock, installed in front of the driver's seat.
It triggers alarms and buzzers when the driver is caught yawning, smoking, talking on the phone, distracted, inattentive, or fatigued.
The 'in-bus' camera, another feature of the on-board controller, allows passengers to raise alarms during emergencies, deters theft and vandalism, and protects drivers. The bus driver console (BDC) is a control panel with many functions, such as displaying the fitness details of the bus, helping the driver navigate routes, communicating with control room staff and displaying the feed from cameras inside the bus, among others.
"It may not be done at once for all buses, but introduced as a pilot on a select route," said GM (IT), UPSRTC, Yazuvendra Kumar.