Electronic City gets a smart bus stop

Bengaluru: A smart bus stop was officially opened by the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) at 12 pm on Monday at the airport bus terminus next to Infosys Avenue. The bus stop, the first of its type in Bengaluru, has various amenities including smart dustbins, charging stations for phones and laptops, and vending machines for snacks and sanitary napkins.

Sathyavathi G, the managing director of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), and Dr. M. A. Saleem, the special commissioner of police for traffic in Bengaluru, were guests of honour for the inauguration, for which the ELCITA posted pictures on the microblogging website Twitter.

"Exciting news! Today marks the beginning of a new era in public transportation in our E-city. Smt @gsatyavathi, IAS (Managing Director, BMTC), and @SplCPTraffic IPS, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru City, inaugurated the first Smart Bus Stop," the ELCITA said.

Both of the guests of honour flagged off the first bus at the smart bus stop. "The smart bus stop has smart dustbins that send alerts when it is 70% full. It also has displays for real-time information about bus timings, one that shows the route map," they tweeted.

"To ensure the safety of all, the bus stop is installed with two CCTV cameras and a two-way SOS system. Besides being "smart", the bus stop is also "green"— the Smart garden is set up," added ELCITA.