Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Thursday announced that the city government is leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to finalise the routes for Mohalla buses in the national capital in collaboration with IIT-Delhi.
He added that the Kejriwal government will employ advanced Big Data analytics and AI-driven solutions to pinpoint key areas and design efficient bus routes. A team of 32 Assistant Traffic Inspectors (ATIs) have been formed, divided into four zones, with each zone having two teams of four ATIs. They will identify routes and assess the feasibility of operating Mohalla buses in the area.
“Their mission is to go on-site to understand the practical challenges of operating nine meter Mohalla buses on these routes in Delhi. The team will also gather input from the public on initiating new routes in these areas,” a statement stated.
Commenting on this, Gahlot stated, "The use of AI and Big Data analytics in public transportation is a game-changer for Delhi. We are also taking help of ATIs in finalising the Mohalla Bus routes. By identifying under-served and high-footfall areas, we can ensure that our Mohalla bus network not only enhances connectivity but also operates efficiently and sustainably. This initiative is a significant step towards making Delhi’s public transport system more accessible and user-friendly."
Further, the statement added that this will help design an optimised route network that maximises coverage of transport demand, offering better intra-region and last-mile connectivity to the Delhi Metro. “The focus will also be on cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability through the use of electric vehicles and strategic route planning,” it stated.
This will be done with the help of IIT-Delhi which will develop a model to identify Origin-Destination pairs and will utilise real-world travel time data to evaluate the health and connectivity of the current transit network, creating a comprehensive supply model.
It will also capture transit and travel time data from passenger information platforms, including transport agencies and Google Maps, to determine the ease of travel between locations and identify under-served regions, the statement added.
The model will aggregate trip data from location-based services and GPS-enabled apps, converting it into an Origin-Destination matrix format. It will also incorporate demographic information to gain insights into potential source and sink regions, analyze travel patterns, and leverage ridership data from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to identify high-footfall areas.
Using the developed model, IIT-Delhi will design an efficient route network for the Mohalla buses and post the design it will support the Delhi Transport Department in monitoring and optimizing the routes.
In addition to leveraging AI, the Delhi government is incorporating inputs from area MLAs, locals, and data collected during a 30-day comprehensive ground assessment exercise by the Transport Department's technical team.
The Kejriwal government has recently initiated a trial of the Mohalla Bus services, currently running on two routes: Pradhan Enclave Pusta to Majlis Park Metro Station, and Akshardham Metro Station to Mayur Vihar Phase-III Paper Market. The trial will last for seven days.
