Case Study: Mysore, India
Overview
- KSRTC is the State Transport Commission for the State of Karnataka, India. It operates about 7,000 buses on intra- and interstate bus services.
- MCTD is a division of KSRTC, providing urban bus services in the city of Mysore, using a fleet of about 400 buses out of 3 depots and 6 bus stations
- KSRTC are currently implementing an ITS system at MCTD covering all of the fleet and the services. The order has been placed and the system is scheduled to be fully operational by end-December 2011.
- The ITS system consists of AVLC based on GPS, GSM/GPRS and real-time passenger information at bus stations, bus stops, and in-vehicle;
- A Central Control Station (CCS) is being established at the main bus station, which will manage services along the routes and at outer terminals. Platform dispatchers will be retained at the bus stations.
- KSRTC are procuring a Project Management Consultant to support the implementation process
- An extensive Monitoring and Evaluation program is being procured to examine the implementation phase, the system and service performance, and the longer-term impacts. This will assist KSRTC in taking decisions about deployment of ITS elsewhere in their fleet.
Scope of the Case Study
This case study deals with the ITS system which is currently under procurement by KSRTC for deployment at Mysore City Transport Division.
It does not cover ITS implemented elsewhere at KSRTC.
It does not cover the fare collection system based on electronic ticket machines. These are described in the Case Study on KSRTC in the Fare Collection Toolkit.
Context
Karnataka State in Southern India has an area of sq. km. and a population of million. The principal city is Bangalore with a population of about 6 million, and is a global hub of IT and software development.
The city of Mysore is located about 140 km west by southwest of Bangalore. It has a population of about 1.2 million. It is a historic city with a significant tourist industry. The city is adjudged to be well-planned and it does not suffer traffic congestion of the scale of Bangalore.
Public transport in Karnataka consists of the following modes:
- Urban bus services
- Outer suburban/hinterland bus services
- Inter-urban and inter-state bus services
- Auto tuk-tuks/three wheelers
- Taxis
- Long-distance and regional rail
The modal share of bus in Mysore is relatively low at 13%. Walking and two-wheelers (mostly motorcycle) have high mode share. The objective is to increase the mode share of bus,
Institutional Framework
Karnataka State Regional Transport Corporation (KSRTC) was established in 1961 under the Road Transport Corporation Act 1950.
Three Corporations were formed out from KSRTC:
- NWKRTC covering North West Karnataka
- NEWKRTC covering North East Karnataka
- BMTC covering Bangalore City
These Corporations are separate from KSRTC.
KSRTC operates transport services in Southern Karnataka, and provides interstate services. It has a fleet of about 7,000 buses.
KSRTC has 14 Divisions, of which Mysore City Transport Division (MCTD) is one.
Operator Structure
Mysore City Transport Division (MCTD) is a Division of KSRTC. It operates services in the City of Mysore.
MCTD operate a fleet of about 400 buses from 3 depots in Mysore. In response to the spatial and population expansion of the city, the fleet size will be augmented to about 475 buses. MCTD are currently planning a 4th depot, which is expected to be operational by end-2012.
MCTD operates 6 bus stations, including Central Bus Station, which is the main hub. The stations have all benefitted from recent refurbishment or development, as Mysore was one of the designated cities under JnNURM. Many of the stations have commercial development (mall, office).
All buses are operated with conductors.
MCTD operate a fleet of standard city buses, with a mix of models including Volvo (low floor), Tata, Ashok Leyland, of different models and ages. Some older models are currently being phased out.
Basis of Service/Route Award
KSRTC are the transport authority, of which MCTD is an operating division.
Permits or Contracts
MCTD operate routes under authority of KSRTC.
Motivations to implement ITS
The City of Mysore needs to achieve a modal shift towards public transportation. Although the current traffic situation is not serious (e.g. like Bangalore), a number of factors indicate that it will degenerate in the absence of intervention. The city is expected to increase significantly in population and area, while the trends are for increasing motorization and increased traffic density.
The core proposition is to improve the attractiveness of the public transport, thereby gaining new users from private transport and retaining existing users. It is believed that many people would consider using public transport since their current means of travel face increasing travel congestion, unpleasant conditions, and increasing out-of-pocket costs as fuel prices rise.
Provision of easily accessible relevant travel information to passengers before and during their journeys is seen as a major basis for increasing attractiveness of the public transport offer. It is also seen as advancing the image of bus transport and positioning it as a modern, value-added service.
A stated preference survey was conducted for KSRTC, which indicated that 89% of the sample would be willing to shift to public transport if KSRTC can provide a reliable service. This is estimated to equate to about 17% of two-wheeler users shifting to public transport.
Finally, KSRTC have consistently been ranked as the leading STU in India, and received many awards for their quality and innovation. It is natural for them to take the lead on new methods to improve service quality and operational efficiency.
Goals of the ITS Project
The goals of the ITS Project are stated as follows:
| Stakeholders | Goals of ITS Project |
|
Commuters |
|
|
Operating Staff |
|
|
KSRTC Management |
|
|
Policymakers |
|
Source: Terms of Reference for ITS Project Monitoring and Evaluation, KSRTC, 2011
Requirements of the ITS System
In response to these objectives, the specific user requirements for the ITS have been identified. The remainder of this sub-section is extracted from Technical Requirements stated in the RFP for the ITS System (KSRTC, 2010, pages 126-7).
Travelers at the bus stops/stations
- Information availability on Bus routes (Bus Numbers: Starting – Destination Point – en route stops), Schedule of the buses – ETA/ETD, Seat availability, approximate travel time in at least two languages – English and Kannada, point to point bus fares, types of buses – AC/Non-AC/Non-stop routes etc; accessibility to such information should be both visual and audio enabled.
- Electronic ticket sale machine and fare collection system.
In-vehicle services for Passengers
- In-vehicle announcements through visual displays and audio system regarding next bus stop arrival and other related information.
Vehicle Drivers
- Two-way communication system between the driver and central control station for emergency /incident management.
- Passenger announcement system inside the bus.
Operational Managers
- Facilitate operation managers to manage the entire fleet operations more efficiently through on-line remote access to vehicle positions, speed, breakdown, accident/ incident, etc
- Preparation of standard reports and charts to support all level of management in decision making.
- Two-way communication facility for instant contact with drivers in case of emergency incident /accident management/ diversions / traffic jams and warning of any traffic violations in real-time.
- Instant access to information such as: missed trips, late trips on different routes, break downs and its duration, vehicles offline, accidents – types, impact, losses etc, route-wise stop times for different trips at bus stops, average speed point to point, travel time analysis, improper stops at bus stops, driver behavior, deviation in routes, speed violations, at different locations and at different points of time
KSTRC Management
- Analytical data (graphical, text and numerical data) for the top management to support effective management of the services of KSRTC
- Cater to requirements of dynamic and context based specific reports graphs and charts and other standard Management Information System reports to give a snapshot view to the KSRTC management on daily, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly performance.
Eco-system partners
- Recorded / immediate access to information on various incidents and accidents to process insurance claims on buses / passengers;
- keeping track of the extent of pollution caused by KSRTC buses and initiate action on progressively bringing in less polluting fuel into the system;
- encouragement of two wheelers and car users to start using the public transport system to bring down traffic congestion and to keep the environment green and healthy
Functional Requirements
The Functional Requirements and Technical Requirements have been detailed in the Technical Requirements section of the RFP for the ITS system. In all, a total of 160 Functional Requirements have been listed, each with a unique identifier.
Scalability
The RFP requires the solution to be scalable, to allow for future fleet expansion.
Operations Management – Organisation
Current Operations
MCTD operates a fleet of 400 buses on city routes, utilizing 6 bus stations. The Central Bus Station is the primary hub, with 29 platforms serving city routes. It has been recently constructed, financed under the JnNURM program.
Currently, each set of platforms is managed by a Dispatcher who supervises the bus services, ensures timely departures, and ensures orderly operations at and around the platforms. The bus station dispatchers are supplemented by mobile supervisors.
All bus services operate to schedules, using normal practice of duties with running boards. The running board is associated with the bus, and the driver is assigned to one of the related duties. The printed running board gives full details for the working day, starting from depot pullout, with each trip operated, any daytime pull-in or crew handover, and final pull-in to the depot. The information for each trip include the start/finish times, start/finish locations, kilometrage, etc. The running board is displayed prominently on the dashboard.
The priorities are:
- To ensure that trips operate
- To ensure on-time departure
- To monitor and eliminate any unauthorized trip-cutting, off-route deviations, and other improper behaviour by bus crew that would impact adversely on the service offer
- To deal with incidents, breakdowns, and to manage the service if there are road blockages, diversions, etc.
Foreseen Operation Concept with the ITS
The Central Control Station (CCS) will be established at the Central Bus Station. A room has already been allocated which was a direct view of the Central Bus Station operating area.
A number of Route Controllers (term has yet not been determined) will be located at the CCS, probably at 4-5 workstations with shift cover throughout the service hours. This would equate to 80-100 buses per workstation. The CCS will allow MCTD to configure the routes to workstations as they see fit.
The platform Dispatchers will be retained, as their on-site is considered essential in terms of operations supervision, contact with the staff, support to customers, and general authority through visibility. They will work in close co-operation with the Route Controllers in the CCS.
The same arrangement will hold good for the other bus stations, although at these locations the CCS Route Controllers will be remote from the platform Dispatchers.
The basic concept is that the platform Dispatchers will manage the dispatch of services operating from the bus stations (with CCS support as required). The CCS Route Controllers will supervise the services as they operate along the route and manage their dispatch from the outer terminals. Using the vehicle tracking information, they will identify and intervene in case of unauthorized early/late departures, off-route operation, bunching of buses, etc.
The precise operating procedures with ITS have not yet been determined. The Divisional Controller at MCTD has established a team that will develop the procedures. To a certain extent, they will wait to see the information that is provided by the vehicle tracking and the display screens, and then work out the operating procedures. The 10-bus pilot may give them some advance insights.
Central Control Station Support Tools
The Route Controller at the CCS has different supporting information displayed in multiple screen formats. The Route Controller will be able to view multiple windows. The principle display and support features include:
- Map-based view of individual lines, showing actual and scheduled locations of all vehicles on the route, colour coding of on-time status
- Automatic headway analysis, detection and alert of out-of-range cases
- Display of expected arrival time of buses to stops or bus station
- Zoom in/out facility for individual vehicles or all vehicles on a route
- Display of status messages, alerts and alarms, and facility to acknowledge
- Facility to send predefined or freeform messages
- Facility to playback stored details of bus movements along the route
The CCS applications are required to be web-enabled, so that remote access is available, supported by appropriate security controls.
The CCS hosts the reference database for routes, stops, fleet, etc. and this is supplemented by the daily vehicle and crew assignments.
Applications for which ITS is used at MCTD, Mysore
Existing Systems
Currently, the electronic ticket issuing machines (see below) represent the only ITS system utilized at MCTD. KSRTC operates the on-line and counter AWATAR reservation system for transport services, but this is not utilized for the urban services at Mysore.
About 180 buses at MCTD are currently fitted with digital exterior and interior displays, provided by Hannover Signs. The standard configuration is 3 external 2-line displays (front, side, rear) and one internal 1-line display. The route reference data is uploaded periodically to the control unit by technical staff at the depot using a memory card. The driver initiates the signage using a control panel.
About 40 buses are currently fitted with GPS units. These are used to support the vehicle displays and do not have any AVL or Operations Management function.
The new ITS system
The ITS system currently under procurement and installation at MCTD will provide the following applications:
- GPS-based Automatic Vehicle Location
- GSM-based data and voice communication
- Central Control Station applications (described above)
- Real-time passenger information in-vehicles, at bus stops and bus stations
- Real-time passenger information on the internet and SMS
- Digital Signage System
A general schematic of the system is shown in the diagram below:
Source: KSRTC
ITS Equipment and Devices
In-vehicle ITS-related equipment consists of:
- Vehicle Mounted Unit with inbuilt GPS, GSM and antenna
- In-vehicle display screens (1-line)
- Bus-stop display screens (2-line)
- Bus terminal screens (4-line)
- Large display screens for bus stations
- Passenger information management system
- Central control station hardware and software
- IT platform, including servers, data storage and peripherals
- Application software
The order quantities are:
Vehicle Mounted Units 500
Bus Mounted Display Panel 500
Bus Stop Display Unit 122
Bus Station Platform display 45
Bus Terminal large display Unit 26
Vehicle Mounted Unit (VMU)
The precise configuration of the Vehicle Mounted Unit is a matter for the supplier. It is presumed that it will be a single integrated unit.
The specified functional requirements for the VMU are:
- Generate location data based on GPS
- Provide data and voice communications facility using /GSMGPRS
- Transmit longitude and latitude position to the Central Control Station system via the GSM/GPRS link, the periodicity (polling cycle) to be user-configurable
- Generate alert messages for excessive speed, harsh braking or acceleration and other signs of improper driving, the parameters for which should be user-configurable
- Host two-way communication between the vehicle and the Central Control Station
- Be equipped with a microphone/speaker to support voice communication
- Have minimum 4 buttons for driver interface, one reserved for SOS/alarm, the others configurable for other message types
- The VMU should be upgradeable/configurable over the air
- Be compatible for integration with other devices such as the Display Controller over an RS232 interface
As specified, the VMU does not function as an on-board computer – e.g. it does not host route data and fare stages for use by other peripherals, nor does it receive transaction data from peripherals for storage and subsequent download.
The AVL functionality provides location, driving style, incident and alert information to the CCS. A user-configurable polling cycle will be set, with possibilities to also make it distance- or event-based.
The AVL will support dynamic trip configuration, allowing the CCS to reconfigure the scheduled trips. In particular it can activate alternate route configurations (e.g. in case of temporary route variant or diversion) with the revised list of stopping places, and thus ensure that the in-vehicle next-stop display and announcements are correct.
Communication
Communication is based on GSM/GPRS with two main streams of data flow:
- The VMU has data and voice access to the Central Control Station, with the facility to allow voice access to other predetermined numbers
- The Central Control Station communicates with the display panels, primarily to provide the real-time information updates
The VMU is required to have redundancy so that if the GPRS service fails (for whatever reason) then SMS is activated as fall-back mode.
Voice communication is restricted, and is controlled by the Central Control Station. The driver has three options to request voice communication:
- Press a ‘Request to Speak’ icon on the driver’s console. This is shown on the dispatcher’s screen, the dispatcher will decide whether and when to initiate a voice call with the driver
- Press an Alarm icon on the driver’s console. This is shown on the dispatcher’s screen with a flashing sign and an audible alarm. The dispatcher will initiate the voice call with the driver.
- Press a hidden emergency button. This will show with a special flashing sign on the dispatcher’s screen, and with a loud alarm sound. Voice communication is automatically opened up, allowing the dispatcher to hear what is going on in the vehicle.
In addition to the request to speak, the driver can select from a menu of status, situation and other messages, and send this to the dispatcher.
Real-time Passenger Information
Real-time information is the core application of the ITS implementation at MCTD.
The real-time information system receives its input data from the Central Control system.
The real–time information system consists of the following strands:
- Bus-stop display units
- Bus station display units
- Large display panels
- In-vehicle display units
- Real-time information management
- Information management sub-system
- Communications sub-system
- Data streaming sub-system
Generation of the real-time information and forecast arrival times
Bus location data is continually obtained by the CCS, which is generated by the vehicle tracking system. The CCS holds a reference database of routes, stops, schedules and scheduled running times, both for operations management and RTPI purposes.
For each bus on each route, the CCS calculates the time for the bus to reach all subsequent stops along the route. It bases this on current location and any deviation from schedule, and current bus speed. This provides the real-time information set of arrival times of buses for every stop.
The CCS transfers the data to the individual displays by GSM.
Digital Signage System
A Digital Signage System is established to manage the content for the digital signs at the various locations.
This enables management of the following:
- Content preparation and storage
- Allocation of content through the various channels
- Preparation and distribution of the traveller information and alerts
- Facility to organize multiple content on different areas of the display
- Sales and management of commercial content, including marketing and brand advertising (this is expected to raise significant revenues), and calculation of playtime and preparation of billing
Bus Terminal Displays
The displays are multi-line (normally 4-line, some 10-line, some 16-line), with a requirement that they can be read from at least 30 metres, with a good viewing angle, and suitable for use in bright daylight conditions. They support multi-lingual format.
The Bus Terminal Displays indicate the routes, destinations and departures times for the routes associated with the related platform or area.
The displays receive their information from the central server, via wireless or wired communications channels.
Bus Stop Displays
Bus stop displays are located within bus shelters. They are multi-line (59 No. 2-line, 63 No. 4-line), of dimension 200mm x 1000mm. As the bus terminal displays, they must be suitable for viewing in bright daylight and support multi-lingual format.
The display present the route, destination and forecast arrival time of the next buses to arrive at the stop. The display units receive their information from the central server via GSM.
A total of 105 bus-stops has been identified for at-stop displays, being about 15% of all 690 bus-stops in Mysore. Each of these stops will have a bus shelter that can accommodate the at-stop display and has electricity supply. At time of writing, 60 had already been constructed. Of the 105, 80 are being constructed by MCTD, for the remainder, the construction is outsourced.
Large Screen Displays
These panels are of approximate dimension 2450 x 1525 mm.
They will carry both traveller information and commercial advertising.
Internet and Mobile Device information services
The system is required to support the provision of RTPI and other travel information over the following channels:
- Internet
- Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
- Short Message Service (SMS)
- Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS)
In-vehicle Display Units
The in-vehicles displays are mounted inside the bus, normally at roof level behind the driver’s cab and facing the passenger to allow maximum viewing inside the vehicle.
The unit has approximate dimensions 220 x 820 x 150 (all mm), with a single line display. Information is sent to the unit by serial port.
The normal mode is to display the next stop, The route and information files are stored in the in-vehicle signage System, with required capacity of 100 bus routes and 200 stops. The routes and the individual stop announcements are activated by the GPS location information.
Other messages can also be displayed, both from preset lists (e.g. travel advice, safety notices) and in real-time from the CCS (e.g. travel alerts, diversions).
Information will be displayed in both English and Kannada, the local language.
In-vehicle Announcement
The announcement system consists of an inbuilt audio port with amplifier in the display unit, connected to two speakers located at the front and rear of the bus.
The ITS system will support three forms of automatic vehicle announcement:
- Next stop announcement, based on the stored route data and cross-checked with the GPS readings
- Additional information at designated stops - e.g. tourist/historic information (Mysore is a historic city with a significant tourist inflow)
- Preset messages
All of the above are prerecorded files stored in the in-vehicle signage system. Announcements will be made in both English and Kannada.
In addition, the driver will be able to make announcement through the VMU microphone system.
Traffic Signal Priority
There is not currently any priority granted to buses at traffic signals. There is not provision in the ITS system for traffic signal priority.
Scheduling and Rostering
These processes are not covered by the ITS system, and will continue to be performed manually for the time being.
Fare Collection
Handheld electronic ticket issuing machines (ETMs) are issued to conductors. The technology, operational practice and reporting are more or less identical to those used by KSRTC. For detailed information, please refer to the Case Study in the Fare Collection Toolkit.
At the start of their duty, conductors are issued with handheld ETMs, onto which the tariff and stage data for every route has been preloaded. Tickets are issued or pass information recorded for each customer. At the end of the shift, the conductor returns the machine from which the day’s transaction data is downloaded to the central system for accounting, MIS and analysis purposes.
Management information and reporting
The RFP details the reporting facilities required of the ITS system. These can be broadly described in two categories:
- Operations and MIS reports: These are expected to provide a range of reports on the service production, irregularities, performance metrics, etc. The full set of reports has not yet been specified. The supplier is expected to work with MCTD/KSRTC to define requirements. The system is expected to allow quick configuration of new report formats from the available data.
- Network Management and technical system performance: Extensive and detailed requirements have been defined for management and reporting of the IT platform, software systems, network, communications, etc. Service levels management is clearly defined. It is evident that a high priority has been placed on ensure that the baseline platform functions correctly, presumably to avoid any consequent problems or loss of functionality for the primary ITS applications.
Service Level standards for the ITS applications
Technical service level standards have been set for:
- ITS Applications
- ITS Devices
- IT Platform
- Communications
Key service level requirements for the ITS applications are:
- ITS Applications availability 99%
- Functional requirement upgrade 60 days
- Computing accuracy 100%
- Accuracy of forecast arrival at bus-stops +/- 2 mins, 30 mins in advance
ITS device service level requirements include:
- Availability of display signage 95%
- Screen refresh of panels at bus stations < 5 seconds
Platform requirements:
- Availability of systems at the data centre 99%
- Resumption of online ITS services 1 hour
- Data availability 100%
- Data accuracy 100%
- Capacity of database server 6,000 transactions/hour
- Capacity of Application server 6,000 transactions/hour
- Availability of services over the internet 100%
Communications requirements are:
- Reliable without any loss of data
- Each Base Transceiver Station (BTS) should ensure 10 second update time for vehicle location
- Seamless connectivity when moving between BTS sites
System Integration
Integration within the supplied ITS system will be carried out by the supplier.
At this stage, integration with other existing systems is not specifically provided for or defined – e.g. the fare collection system. Nonetheless, the RFP requires that that the ITS system can support such future integration.
There are not yet specific plans to integrate the ITS with other systems that may be computerized in the future (e.g. fuel, maintenance, driver rostering). Nonetheless, there is awareness of the potential and this will be addressed after the ITS implementation when there is a better appreciation of the data which is generated and available.
Management and Oversight of the ITS Systems
Once operational, all management and oversight of the ITS systems will done by MCTD, with backline support from KSRTC.
During the implementation phase, various tasks are delegated to the Project Management Consultant (see below).
Procurement of the ITS
The ITS system is being acquired through a single procurement to cover all of the required ITS equipment and software, the supporting IT and communication platforms, training and a three-year maintenance period. Specifically, the contract is for:
- Design
- Development
- Testing
- Installation
- Commissioning
- Training
- Operations
- Maintenance of the facilities for a three-year period
The Procurement is handled through the offices of the Controller of Stores and Purchases of KSRTC. KSRTC launched the procurement process in June 2010. This used procurement procedures acceptable to the World Bank, including the requirements for evaluation reports and obtaining No-Objection at key points.
A pre-bid meeting was held and was attended by 54 people. Subsequently, 38 entities purchased the bidding documents. A total of 346 queries were received, to which responses were prepared by KSRTC. The full set of queries and responses is published on the KSRTC website.
A total of 14 bids was received. Of these, one was immediately not compliant as it did not have the required bid security. A further 5 were rejected on more detailed examination. The reasons for rejection are provided in an evaluation synopsis published on the KSRTC website.
A total of 8 bids were deemed compliant following the Technical Evaluation. Following a technical evaluation report and No-Objection from the World Bank, the Financial Proposals were opened. The bid from CTC Ltd. (an Indian firm, part of the Tata group) was deemed to be the winner.
The winning bid had a price of INR 146 million (c.$3.2 million). The highest priced compliant bid was INR 598 million (four times the winning bid). Of the other bidders, two were within 50% of the winning bid price, with a further three being between 50% and 100% above the winning bid price.
The order letter for the system was issued in May 2011. A pilot of 10 buses and one bus-stop display is to be carried out in August-September 2011, following which full rollout will be done with the system to be fully operational by end-December 2011.
The contract includes provision for liquidated damages in case of late delivery or delayed operational capability.
Implementation
Implementation Timeline
Implementation is arranged in three phases. Following initial build phase, a two-week pilot of the equipment will be carried out on 10 buses and one bus-stop. Any modifications will be identified and rectified, and the full system will then the rolled out.
The activity commences in May with full deployment by end-November and the system fully operational by end-December 2011.
The three phases and their constituent steps are:
Build
- Site survey
- Site survey sign-off
- System study and Review SRS
- Procurement of Hardware
- Installation and Commissioning of Hardware and Applications
- Customisation of Applications
Pilot
- Installation of VMU and Displays
- Integration Testing of Application
- Run Pilot for one bus route
- Performance tuning
- Generate MIS reports
- Basic training – Pilot Phase
Rollout
- ITS Application configuration
- Data management
- Delivery and installation of remaining VMU and Display units
- Commissioning and testing
- Backup and restore
- System fine tuning
- Training
- User Acceptance Test
Implementation Roles
The supplier is responsible for delivery of the system, ensuring its correct functionality, and providing the training needed.
MCTD will take responsibility for installation of the equipment both on the buses and at the bus shelters/terminals. The supplier will provide training to the technical and maintenance staff of MCTD, who will then carry out all of the wiring and installation.
The Project Management Consultants will be responsible for the planning and organization of the ITS delivery.
Project Management Consultancy
A Project Management Consultant will be retained by KSRTC to provide substantive project management support. The PMC contract is expected to have a duration of 12 months. Following a procurement process, the PMC support will commence in June-July 2011 and work in close collaboration with the Head-PIU of the project.
The project management consultancy will cover the key project phases
- Initiating
- Planning
- Executing
- Controlling
- Closing
The Terms of Reference state that “the critical tasks of Project Management Consultancy are Project Management, Scope and Technical solution, Technical acceptance, Transition and Roll out, Capture lessons learned during the project Cycle etc. These components form a part of the project methodology and are briefly explained below:
- >Project Management: Project Manager is responsible for the entire project management, and ensures schedule and process compliance with the agreed project process. The key tasks that are performed are project planning and monitoring, status reporting, risk assessments with recommendations to mitigate these, resource utilization and variances, validation, acceptance testing and formulation of Service Level Agreements with the service vendors.
- >Advice KSRTC in undertaking activities to affect change within the selected departments, suggest business process re-engineering to help implement ITS projects.
- >Scope and Technical Solution: Project Manager is responsible for reviewing Solution Provider’s project methodology, project templates, questionnaires and other toolkits for use on projects that aid in capturing detailed requirements in building the solution. In cases where necessary, workshops and interviews need to be conducted for evolving the solution. The final requirement specification, Technical Solution and SLA that meet Requirement Specification is recommended to the PIU by the project manager for review and approval. Feedback from PIU is incorporated into the specifications and provided to the vendor for implementation as a standard project activity.
- >Technical and Acceptance Testing: Project Manager shall review and recommend the test and acceptance criteria. Project Manager shall advise the vendor on evolving the test plan required to meet the outlined specifications and SLA. Critical Test reports in areas such as Scalability, Interoperability and Performance shall be submitted to the PIU. Feedback from PIU is incorporated into the specifications and provided to the vendor for implementation as a standard project activity.
- >Perform a Structured Transition and Rollout: Project Manager shall outline processes and activities for transition to ensure that the project is implemented successfully towards delivering benefits that were envisaged in the project proposal. Project Manager shall recommend to PIU on training, and deployment plans, proposed migration plan and may include phases (alpha, beta, pilot roll out) before a full scaled roll out. Critical reports such as transition plan, feedback of pilot roll out shall be submitted to the PIU. Feedback from PIU is incorporated into the specifications and provided to the vendor for implementation as a standard project activity.
- >Project Post-deployment Review: Project Manager shall monitor processes and activities to ensure that project deliveries deliver the intended benefits. A record of the implementation experience, assessments from the stake holders on the deliveries, deviations from the original SLA is recorded. Project Manager shall conduct a post implementation survey of the stake holders to establish appropriate practices for program.
- >Evaluation & Monitoring (E&M) Support: With the objective of evaluating the effectiveness of the ITS investment by Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the PMC should create a E&M plan. The plan should consist of methodology and performance measures for comparing the existing scenario with the post ITS implementation scenario. The E&M plan should provide a roadmap for evaluating the project outcomes through collecting, analyzing and documenting relevant performance indicators. The PMC should also collect the baseline data, based on the plan, for providing E&M support.”
Capital Costs of the ITS
The contract price for the ITS system is INR 146.3 million (c. USD 3.26 million). This includes all in-vehicle, display and control centre equipment and software, the IT and communications platform; training, and maintenance over a three period.
This does not include the KSRTC’s costs of the project design, management and procurement; the in-house cost of installation in buses, shelters, terminals, etc.; the Project Management Consultancy; or the Monitoring and Evaluation consultancy.
Operating Costs of the ITS
This data is not yet known as the ITS system has not yet commenced operation.
Revenue Generated by or through the ITS systems
KSRTC intend to use the system for advertising and to generate revenues.
Revenues from advertising on the buses and at the bus terminals will be retained by KSRTC. Revenues from advertising at the bus shelters will be shared with Mysore City.
Benefits arising from the ITS systems at MTDC
As the ITS has not yet been implemented at MTDC, there are not yet resultant benefits arising which can be measured.
KSRTC anticipates significant benefits, based on achieving the objectives set out for the ITS project (see above), and expect that they will recover the total project cost within three years.
KSRTC needs to understand and quantify the benefits arising, not only from the point of view of the Mysore implementation, but also to support decisions on whether to deploy ITS on other public transport in Karnataka State. The most important location is Bangalore, with an urban fleet of almost 7,000 buses, and there are also many other urban, regional and inter-city operations of KSRTC.
It should also be noted that this form of extensive and integrated ITS deployment is a first for India, and hence can be viewed as a national demonstration. KSRTC leads the rankings of public transport commissions in India, and hence has a high visibility and leadership role within the sector.
Monitoring and Evaluation – overview and procurement
Within the framework of the World Bank supported project, KSRTC is currently procuring support services for Monitoring and Evaluation. This support is being procured for a period of 48 months (4 years) so that it can evaluate both the immediate period of implementation, and also the short- and longer-term impacts. The bidding process was launched in May 2011 with bids due by late-June and the Consultant should commence shortly thereafter.
The following sub-sections are extracted from the document “Terms of Reference for the ITS Project Monitoring and Evaluation’’, issued by KSTTC in May 2011.
Monitoring and Evaluation - Strands
The Monitoring and Evaluation will focus on three strands:
1) Monitoring of the Project Implementation through an Audit covering
- Review of Project Personnel, their experience and competence
- Review of Project Processes and Methodologies including deviations and change management and their impact on the outcomes
- High level review of the Technology components in the project with specific reference to their performance
- Timeliness of Deliverables committed, Training, handholding and adoption of the system by the stakeholders
2) Evaluation of the Outcomes and Impact Assessment - Conduct and ex-ante evaluation of the project and benchmark in four areas:
- Internal operational parameters of KSRTC in fleet management and delivery of services with relevance to efficiency and effectiveness
- Segmentation of the commuters and general in their use of private vehicles and public transport with relevance to travel mode, travel times and convenience
- Socio-economic and Environmental factors that are impacted by the project such as vehicular population, overall fuel spend, traffic congestion, roundtrip times, greenhouse gases, etc.
3) Conduct and ex-post evaluation in for all identified areas and compare with benchmark evaluation covering:
- Counterfactual study to bring out the areas where no impact would have taken place but for the project
- Categorize the impact areas and their effectiveness over spatial and temporal parameters over the initial 3 years of the project
- Suggest Remedial measures and interventions for low or no impact areas from the evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation – target issues
Program Relevance
- Does the program meet the actual Transportation Needs of the Commuters? What are the commuters’ perceptions on the envisaged benefits of the program?
- Does the program induce Modal shift in Mysore by providing timely information to the commuters? What are the influencing factors for accelerating modal shifts? By what extent does the program help reduce pollution & traffic congestion through modal shifts?
- What are the key lessons from the Mysore Implementation for policy makers to implement similar programs elsewhere
Project Implementation
- Are the key project resources qualified experienced to implement the project?
- What specific Project Processes and methodologies were helpful or stalled the implementation of the ITS project?
- Have the new technologies used for the solution been easy for stakeholders to adopt, support and maintain? Which of the components are not so effective in the architecture that needs to be dropped?
- What are the specific Risks, Challenges and Mitigation that projects such as these need to pay attention?
Operational Effectiveness
- Does the project help KSRTC operational staff in easily discharging their operational responsibilities, increasing their efficiency and effectiveness?
- Are there any specific solution architectural components that are useful or redundant and functioning above or below expected levels respectively?
- Is the system simple enough for all the stakeholders to be trained easily, and to adopt and induct into their work style? Are there any major process reengineering interventions that were required?
- Is there a discernable system lifecycle for the ITS project from an operational perspective?
Outcomes and Impact Assessment
- How does the project compare with a-priori direct and indirect benefits envisaged? Are such projects cost effective? What is the percentage of increase in revenues of KSRTC attributable to the ITS project?
- What are the specific intended outcomes and impacts that were very successful, successful, not so successful / partially successful, and totally unexpected, and those that had no impact?
- What specific Interventions are needed to realize the outcomes in partially and not successful areas? What are the outcomes that were unexpected but were realized? What are unintended consequences of ITS project?
- How do the specific outcomes span spatially and temporally? Is there a discernable segmentation of the commuter population, in terms of Roger’s innovation curve for instance, such as– Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards?
- Given the learning from this project, are there any changes that are necessary for ITS assessment methodology?
Monitoring and Evaluation - Methodology
The methodology suggested rests on the following four key activities:
- An ex-ante study to baseline the performance of KSRTC before the project begins
- An ex-ante study to baseline the socio-economic indicators of the existing commuters and potential segments
- Conduct Temporal studies to evolve the benefits delivered to KSRTC and commuter segments
- Final comprehensive ex-post study M&E report at the end of M&E project
The studies will be conducted based on a set of performance indicators identified a-priori with provision to modify these in a limited way if required. A provisional set of indicators, data collection methodology, sampling frame (sample size, periodicity, locations) have been identified in the Terms of Reference, the bidders can propose alternatives.
Experience and Lessons Learned
As KSRTC are still in the order phase, the number of lessons learned is limited at this stage. Some of the experience and lessons learned to date have been:
- Strong management interest and involvement at all layers, so that there is high awareness about the ITS project and what it should achieve, and full corporate commitment
- Establishment of goals and requirement for all stakeholder groups
- Choice of a self-contained location (Mysore) of manageable size (400 buses, 3 depots) to deploy ITS and learn whether/how to then deploy on part or all of the full fleet of 7,000 buses of different service types
- Willingness to engage external support at various stages, including the Technical Requirements, and the PMC and M&E consultancy
- Commitment to a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation program, over a 48-month period, to truly understand the impacts.
- The RFP process elicited strong interest and a significant number of high-quality bids, the majority of which were compliant.
- The procurement process takes time (in this case using World Bank procedures), but when followed correctly, fast turnaround of key stages (e.g. No-Objection letter) can be achieved
- Appreciation of the image and corporate-positioning value of the project, both with the general public and with political and industry leaders
- Willingness to place program and technical information in the public domain, including on a dedicated section of the website
Documentation
KSRTC has documented the process and placed much important information in the public domain on their website www.ksrtc.in
Relevant documents include:
- RFP for the ITS system, which includes a detailed description of the functional requirements and the ITS systems required
- Bid evaluation report
Images
Schematic sourced from the RFP for the ITS system, courtesy KSRTC.