Soon, Bengaluru to get a super-app for all things traffic

Bengaluru: Tired of hopping over social media platforms and online maps to get traffic updates while you are on the move in Bengaluru? A relief is in the offing in the form of a super-app which will provide city's commuters with a 'one-stop' solution to many of their woes.

The Bengaluru Traffic Police's much-awaited ASTraM (Actionable intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management) application for the public is in the works and is set to be made available within the next couple of months.

Besides providing real-time traffic congestion updates, the app will allow users to report accidents that could affect traffic movement.

The app is aimed at removing the need for relying on multiple navigation applications or the police for updates. 

The super-app is different from the existing ASTraM app launched earlier this year that is available only to the traffic police to monitor real-time traffic and analyse patterns. 

According to Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M N Anucheth, the new "one-stop" super-app will provide people traffic congestion alerts within a 5-km radius and enable them to report accidents that could affect traffic movement. It will also allow people to view and pay traffic fines. 

"We want to integrate the Public Eye and other services into a single app. Even the traffic police will start using the app with added features to report road incidents," he told DH. 

People can report violations and accidents by clicking images and submitting them without the app recording their personal information, the official added. This will negate the need for people to take to social media to check for updates from the traffic police or report violations. 

The app is part of the traffic police's list of at least 26 projects and procurement proposals that the state government approved recently at an estimated cost of Rs 55 crore. 

Microsimulation to manage traffic 

The traffic police will also hire eligible agencies to create microsimulation models of the city within the next three months. This will enable them to model individual vehicle movement to assess the traffic, down to a street level, to manage it better. 

"They (the agency) will make a digital map of the city that we can use to simulate projects such as road closures or changing one-ways without inconveniencing people. If the simulation shows better results, we want to implement those changes," the joint commissioner said. 

Currently, the police have a simulation model for 21 major traffic corridors in Bengaluru, such as Ballari Road, Hosur Road, Tumakuru Road and Mysuru Road, but the project aims to cover the entire city. 

Some other traffic projects under progress include procuring signboards and thermoplastic markings for the 'Safe Routes to School' project, 150 solar blinkers, 500 body-worn cameras, and several thousand cat's eyes to improve road visibility at night. They will also shift out traffic signals from 32 junctions where Japan's MODERATO system has been implemented to other junctions that don't have signals. 

JCP Anucheth noted that tenders for the projects were floated in October and they were finalising various works. "All work orders will be finalised by the end of this month and works will be completed by January," he said.