The MyBMTC app, which allows Bengalureans to track the city’s buses in real time, is now available in a crisp new format. The app currently has more than 65,000 downloads on Android.
The MyBMTC app has been given a facelift, with a fresh new user interface. It is now also linked to Google Maps to give traffic-based information on when the bus will reach its destination. The app also uses real-time location data from the buses, which are already fitted with GPS devices.
Move over @Olacabs& @Uber the super cool @BMTC_BENGALURU app is here & working like a charm! today it delivered big time. I had to decide auto or bus - looked up the app - it said bus arriving in 2 minutes & boom! it did! Please spread the word about MyBMTC app! Kudos to BMTC! pic.twitter.com/31e7rLtWUm
— Srinivas Alavilli (@srinualavilli) February 24, 2020
The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) boasts a fleet of 6,500 buses, though Chief Minister of Karnataka, BS Yediyurappa had promised to increase in the number of buses, at the time of elections. The city residents have repeatedly called for doubling the fleet.
The Vehicle Traffic Management System (VTMS) sends each bus’s location to a centralised BMTC server. However, the data previously did not get adequately translated in the official BMTC app, and most people preferred to use an unofficial BMTC app to keep track of buses.
The app also has a trip planning system, to allow people who are not used to the city’s bus routes to go the app and figure out how to go from A to B, based on the current bus routes.
Got down at #TinFactory, looked up on app and looked around - the bus(MF1) was right there; as if it was waiting for me ;)
— Yogeesh Prabhuswamy (@yogeeshgp) February 25, 2020
@BMTC_BENGALURU pic.twitter.com/v0dyFd6cGl
The app also has a way for users to find the closest bus stop based on their phone’s location.
This unofficial app was by Nihar Thakkar, but access to the BMTC’s data was later shut down. Sources from the BMTC had told TNM that there were concerns that the data could be misused by other local transport technology companies, such as taxi cab aggregators Ola and Uber.
Fast-forward six months, after extensive newspaper coverage and his father requesting BMTC to allow him access to the app, Nihar Thakkar has been allowed to develop and maintain the official MyBMTC app.
TNM had previously reported that the full-fledged app would be available in January, and BMTC has also put out an iOS version of the app, so that even iPhone users can reap the full benefits of the local transit application.
A Kannada version of the application is also on the cards. BMTC Officer for Public Relations Ajit Torgal said that the English version of the app is still being improved, but the app will be also introduced in Kannada “in a due course of time.”