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<drop_initial>The Chennai Bus app of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) is set to get a major upgrade soon. The MTC, currently utilising the Chalo App to help commuters track its buses, is set to migrate to a new digital platform once testing, which is in an advanced stage, is completed. This follows the digitisation of bus routes and schedules being executed through the JICA fund under the city bus system, using Japan International Cooperation Agency funds, at a total cost of ₹127 crore.

The success of the Chennai One app of the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) has been attributed to its integration with the MTC’s digitised system.

A senior official of the MTC said on the digital front, the city bus system was being upgraded in three parts – automatic vehicle location system (AVLS), public information system, and depot management system (DMS).

These integrated digitised systems aim at providing commuters with the details of bus arrivals and departures in real time.

The digitisation project is in the final stages, with testing in progress, and within a month’s time, the MTC bus app will be migrated to the new platform, he added.

As part of the project to upgrade its AVLS, the MTC has opted for a complete revamp of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in its entire fleet of 3,450 buses, as the GPS<SU>machines installed through the Chalo app were not advanced.

As for improving the public information system, which provides real-time information of bus arrivals and departures to commuters waiting at bus stops, the MTC had installed three types of digital boards — providing information on the location of buses and other details – in many bus stops, including Kilambakkam, Tambaram Sanatorium, Central station, T. Nagar, and Koyambedu. The MTC official said the digital boards had been installed at more than 600 bus stops and bus termini, and testing had also been completed.

The DMS was another important project, as the MTC timekeepers, who maintained the trip sheets in book registers, had also gone digital in scheduling buses, he added.

T. Sathyan, a regular commuter from Tambaram, said a revamp of the Chennai Bus app was essential, as it did not include all the buses, including small buses, though even the newly-introduced electric buses and routes were displayed.