Metropolitan Transport Corporation Research Articles

A cross sectional study on prevalence of hypertension and associated risk factors among bus drivers of Metropolitan Transport Corporation Limited, Chennai

Background: The job of bus driving is not only risky due to probable accidents and incidents but also risky due to probable health risk factors associated with the nature of bus driving. Sedentary work was done by many professional drivers and they were found to be physically inactive during their leisure time which lead to an increase in risk for obesity and hypertension. Therefore, this study was done with the aim to detect the prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among metropolitan transport corporation bus drivers. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among bus drivers of metropolitan transport corporation Limited, Chennai. The sample size obtained was 422. A multistage sampling method was used. A Validated semi-structured questionnaire containing questions on basic socio demographic particulars, lifestyle factors, past and family history and anthropometric and blood pressure measurement was done and was analyzed using SPSS 21. Results: The prevalence of hypertension was found to be 49.5%. Smoking was found in 23.2% of the respondents, tobacco and betel nut chewing in 14.7% of the respondents and 45.5% were found to consume alcohol. It was found that as age increases the prevalence of hypertension also increases which was statistically significant (p=0.001). Conclusions: This rampant disease can be prevented and managed through lifestyle modifications and medication therapy. The risk factors may be avoided by maintaining a regular physical activity, focussing on dynamic exercise, having medical checkups.

Prediction of Work-Related Risk Factors among Bus Drivers Using Machine Learning.

A recent development in ergonomics research is using machine learning techniques for risk assessment and injury prevention. Bus drivers are more likely than other workers to suffer musculoskeletal diseases because of the nature of their jobs and their working conditions (WMSDs). The basic idea of this study is to forecast important work-related risk variables linked to WMSDs in bus drivers using machine learning approaches. A total of 400 full-time male bus drivers from the east and west zone depots of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), which is based in Bengaluru, south India, took part in this study. In total, 92.5% of participants responded to the questionnaire. The Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to gather data on symptoms of WMSD during the past 12 months (MNMQ). Machine learning techniques including decision tree, random forest, and naïve Bayes were used to forecast the important risk factors related to WMSDs. It was discovered that WMSDs and work-related characteristics were statistically significant. In total, 66.75% of subjects reported having WMSDs. Various classifiers were used to derive the simulation results for the frequency of pain in the musculoskeletal systems throughout the last 12 months with the important risk variables. With 100% accuracy, decision tree and random forest algorithms produce the same results. Naïve Bayes yields 93.28% accuracy. In this study, through a questionnaire survey and data analysis, several health and work-related risk factors were identified among the bus drivers. Risk factors such as involvement in physical activities, frequent posture change, exposure to vibration, egress ingress, on-duty breaks, and seat adaptability issues have the highest influence on the frequency of pain due to WMSDs among bus drivers. From this study, it is recommended that drivers get involved in physical activities, adopt a healthy lifestyle, and maintain proper posture while driving. For any transport organization/company, it is recommended to design driver cabins ergonomically to mitigate the WMSDs among bus drivers.

Performance Evaluation of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

Maintaining and enhancing public transit services in Indian cities is important to meet rapidly-growing mass mobility needs. Indian cities rely predominantly on buses for public transportation, and issues of performance measurement and efficiency analyses for bus companies have been gaining significance due to severe operational stress and financial constraints in which these bus companies provide service to people. In public transportation, multiple parameters are involved that influence the efficiency of operation. This study measures the performance of premium bus services operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) using data envelopment analysis. This approach enabled the identification of opportunities for improvement at the bus depot and route levels. The analysis indicates that most depots are efficient, but some routes have significant opportunities for improvement.

Study on organizational climate metropolitan transport corporation (Chennai) limited

The term organizational climate “it is the distinctive work environment that influences the behaviour of the individuals employed in an organization”. It is a set of measurable properties of the work environment perceived directly or indirectly by the people who live and work in the environment and assumed to influence their motivation and behaviour. Organizational climate within an organization refers to how organizational environments are perceived and interpreted by its employees. It is to survive and continue to play a vital role in the promotion of cognitive, affective and practical competence in individuals and ensure the preservation of our cultural values. It is important that the teachers who are responsible for helping the students to acquire the knowledge, skills and practical orientations essential for self as well as for national development, be effectively motivated. This study discusses and analyses various components of organization climate of employees working in MTC- Chennai.

Risk factors and prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in metropolitan bus drivers: An assessment of whole body and hand-arm transmitted vibration.

Metropolitan bus drivers have higher prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to their nature of work and working environment. To identify the prevalence of WMSDs and associated risk factors and to conduct real-time testing to evaluate Whole Body Vibration (WBV) and Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) in buses based on the ISO standards to assess the vibrations levels at different speeds. Participants in this study were 370 full-time male bus drivers from the north and south zones of 13 depots of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Bengaluru, south India. Information regarding WMSDs symptoms during the previous 7 days and 12 months were collected by Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (MNMQ). WBV and HAV testing was performed and vibration levels were compared with ISO-2631-1 (1997) and ISO-5349-1-2001 standards. It was found that 68.7% of participants reported WMSDs. Several individuals and work-related factors were found to be statistically significant with WMSDs. From the Gini impurity measure, vibration and road types (Asphalt pavement and Rough road) were considered as vital risk factors associated with WMSDs. From the WBV and HAV evaluations, it was found that for buses on asphalt pavement at > 60 km/h, the vibration level was higher compared to a lower speed. The vibration level exceeded the Exposure Action Value (EAV) on rough roads at all speeds (20km/h, 40km/h and 60km/h) and in several situations considered based on assumptions the vibration level exceeded the Exposure Limiting Value (ELV).

DYNAMIC TRIP PLANNER FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT USING GENETIC ALGORITHM

This paper reports the development of a public transport trip planner to help the urban traveller in planning and preparing for his commute using public transportation in the city. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) approach that handles real-time Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data from buses of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai City (India) has been used to develop the planner. The GA has been shown to provide good solutions within the problem’s computation time constraints. The developed trip planner has been implemented for static network data first and subsequently extended to use real-time data. The “walk mode” and Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) have also been included in the geospatial database to extend the route-planner’s capabilities. The algorithm has subsequently been segmented to speed up the prediction process. In addition, a temporal cache has also been introduced during implementation, to handle multiple queries generated simultaneously. The results showed that there is promise for scalability and citywide implementation for the proposed real-time route-planner. The uncertainty and poor service quality perceived with public transport bus services in India could potentially be mitigated by further developments in the route-planner introduced in this paper.

Transport analytics in action: A cloud-based decision support system for efficient city bus transportation

Optimising city bus transport operations helps conserve fuel by providing the urban transport service as efficiently as possible. This study develops a Cloud-based Decision Support System (C-DSS) for transport analytics. The C-DSS is based on an intelligent model on location of depots for opening new depots and/or closing a few existing depots and allocation of city-buses to depots. The C-DSS is built on the Cloud Computing architecture with three layers and includes an efficient and simple greedy heuristic algorithm. Using modern information and communications technology tools, the proposed C-DSS minimizes the cost of city bus transport operations and in turn to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in urban passenger transport. The proposed C-DSS is demonstrated for its workability and evaluated for its performance on 25 large scale pseudo data generated based on the observation from Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in India.

Sustainable Urban Transport Policies to Improve Public Transportation System: A Case Study of Bengaluru, India

Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India and one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in India today is suffering from a severe issue of traffic congestion over last few years. The exponential growth of vehicles and population has resulted in uncontrolled emissions. The bus services by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), which is still the backbone of city’s public transit, is suffering from losses from last few years. For a city like Bengaluru, sustainable urban transit is a must and it can be achieved in the quickest and the least costly way by improving the ridership of existing public transport as a result of mode switch from private to public transport. This can be done by promoting the use of buses and discouraging the use of private vehicles simultaneously through various policies. This paper discusses about the few of those policies that can be implemented in order improve the ridership of BMTC and proves with the detailed analysis that such policies can result in reducing the overall vehicular emission in the city and, hence improving the sustainability. The paper shows that policies as simple as restructuring of bus fare can impact the ridership significantly and will prove to be the paths of moving towards livable Bengaluru.

Performance of Exclusive Bus Lanes in Chennai

A bus lane is a lane which is provide only for operating buses and used to avoid traffic congestion. The current bus transit system in Chennai, known as MTC (METROPOLITAN TRANSPORT CORPORATION), is accommodating about 4 million transport units sufficient to accompany increasing number of passengers. Buses have to share the lane with other vehicles, which affects their capacity, speed, reliability, and quality of service. Due to traffic congestions, travel during peak hours in Metropolitan cities has become unattractive. An attempt has been made in this paper to provide lanes only for operation of buses. Three arterial roads connecting Kelambakkam to Sholinganallur, Chennai central to TambaramVandaloor zoo to Tambaram were selected for the study. Traffic volume survey was conducted in these areas. Based upon the survey conducted and analysis made, suggestions are proposed for the exclusive bus lanes for theselected area where traffic congestion is more during peak hours.

Big Data and Urban Transportation in India: A Bengaluru Bus Corporation Case Study

As cities grow, urban transportation is becoming an issue of increasing salience. Simultaneously, big data systems are being introduced into urban transport. This paper analyses the early days of the big data system introduced by India’s Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, which runs the city’s 6,000-plus buses. This has three main components: automated vehicle tracking and electronic ticketing machines which generate gigabytes of data per day, and a linked passenger information system with mobile app. Field interviews and document analysis were used to assess the system. Only an early, partial and contingent assessment can be given because the system had only been implemented for little over a year. It does work in terms of gathering data and informing both management and passengers, though there are some operational flaws still to be ironed out. Substantive contribution of tactical and strategic value has yet to be seen: it seems easier to apply data-intensity to operational than higher-level managerial processes. However, there is already a sense in which big data is changing both the image of the organisation, and the “imaginary” of politicians and managers: the new view of urban transport systems that big data makes visible. As a result of the latter, plans for removal of bus conductors and of layers of middle management are well advanced. We also see signs of big data enabling shifts in power: from labour to management, from middle to top management, and potentially towards those with data-related capabilities. There is some greater transparency of organisational activities to the general public, but wider transparency awaits full and sustained opening of transport data to other users.

BMTC e-pass Application

Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is a prominent public transport service provider in Bengaluru. It makes commuting favourable and cheap compared to other modes of transport within the city. The organization enhances its services by analyzing passenger demands and providing them the necessary services. BMTC working model is coagulating with information technology in terms of ITS (Intelligent Transport System- Global Positioning System [GPS] enabled buses, electronic ticketing machine [ETM]). In spite of these advancements, it charges its service fares through paper tickets and passes which need to be purchased by paying cash. In the Digital era, technological solutions pave the way for digitizing mechanisms for traditional methods or problems and synchronizing information in real-time. These paper pass which proves to be beneficiary for passengers are being misused by means of transferring, reusing the day pass when there is lack of inspection. We have designed a solution to overcome misuse and also to encourage digital transaction for a cashless economy. The solution is mobile application electronic pass (e-pass).

Comparative Analysis of Mumbai and Bangalore’s State-Run Road Transportation Corporations

The paper makes comparisons of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) of Bangalore and Mumbai respectively with respect to its performance, governance and organisational structures. Through the analysis, the paper attempts to make recommendations for State road transportation undertakings (SRTUs) in line with the spirit of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act to strengthen these agencies and enable them to serve the megacities better.

Comparison of waist-hip ratio, prehypertension, and hypertension in young male bus drivers and non-drivers of Bengaluru city

Background: Hypertension is a public health burden globally and is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Elevated blood pressure (BP) in young adulthood leads to atherosclerosis in middle age. Bengaluru is a rapidly growing city with huge traffic congestion which leads to increased stress levels in professional bus drivers. The purpose of the study was to assess whether bus drivers had higher waist-hip ratio elevated BP as compared to non-drivers. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to record the anthropometric parameters, measure waist-hip ratio, record systolic (SBP), and diastolic BP (DBP) in (1) Group A - 30 Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus drivers and (2) Group B - 30 non-drivers (clerical staff) and to assess and compare the results between both the groups. Materials and Methods: Study included 60 subjects aged between 25 and 35 years chosen based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Questionnaire including personal history and diet history was answered by all the subjects. Physical examination was done. Waist circumference and hip girth were measured and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) calculated in both the groups. BP was recorded in sitting position both by palpatory and auscultatory methods in both groups. The results were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Results: WHR was significantly higher in the study group as compared to subjects in the control group (P = 0.01*). There was significant elevation of SBP (P = 0.001**) and DBP (P = 0.001**) in the study group. With respect to the years of job experience, study group had more SBP (P = 0.001**) and DBP (P = 0.043*) compared to controls. Conclusion: Higher waist-hip ratio and increased BP in drivers as compared to controls suggest that drivers are at high risk of developing coronary heart disease or stroke at an early age. Drivers have to be educated about lifestyle modifications to reduce stress and maintain BP within a normal range.

A cross sectional study on prevalence of obesity among bus drivers of Metropolitan Transport Corporation Limited, Chennai

Background: The job of bus driving involves several health risks. Both individual behaviours and work environmental variables contribute to higher obesity prevalence and risk of excess weight gain in this occupational group. This study has been planned to study the prevalence of obesity among bus drivers and to make recommendations to prevent obesity among bus drivers. Methods: The study was planned among bus drivers of the bus depots of Metropolitan Transport Corporation Limited, Chennai between January 2014 and June 2014. The sample size was calculated based on the assumption where the prevalence was 50%. Considering Confidence level of 95%, absolute precision of 5% with 10% excess sampling to account for non- response, the sample size derived was 422. Multistage sampling method was used. The required information was obtained by means of validated questionnaire and also by anthropometric measurements. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 42.32yrs. 41% of respondents were overweight. 14.5% of the respondents were found to be obese. Of the obese 22.7% were in the age group of above 50 yrs. There was found to be a statistical significance between age and obesity with a chi square value of 13.60 and a p value of less than 0.001. Conclusions: There was a significant association between age and obesity among bus drivers. There was also vast scope to avoid health risk factors by routine exercise, having regular diet and rest. With the help of experts of yoga, meditation, physical educationist, gymnasium experts etc. the drivers may be given counselling as to how to maintain the body mass index.

Development of hub and spoke model for improving operational efficiency of bus transit network of Bangalore city

In a large city, operating a bus transit service on a route network based on destination-oriented or point-to-point approach, which considers all possible routes with the node set, is cumbersome and impractical. Alternatively, a Hub and Spoke network, which combine the destination-oriented and direction-oriented approaches, could be a more efficient choice. However, this model has only been applied to airline networks, whose influencing factors and variables could widely differ from those of an urban transit network. This paper proposes an approach to develop a hub and spoke network for an urban bus transit service in the Indian context. The proposed methodology consists of finding optimal locations for potential hubs, allocating non-hub nodes to hub nodes, and generating inter-hub and intra-hub routes and the frequencies of the bus service in those routes. For the case study, the proposed model is applied on the bus service operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in Bangalore City, India. The results suggest noticeable savings in operator cost and CO2emissions compared with the existing point-to-point operational approach. This is significant considering that most of the urban bus transport corporations in India are currently under losses.

Equity in public transport — a case of Bangalore’s city bus transport

In most urban areas, buses are the most heavily used form of public transportation[1] and more so in Indian cities where buses make up for over 90% of public transport ridership[2]. In the selected Indian metro cities, where formal bus based PT systems are operated by public agencies, they are over-reliant on state support to sustain operations as fare box collections are inadequate in spite of having relatively high ridership. The main challenge for all this is to achieve long term financial sustainability of public transport systems while providing good quality and affordable bus services.This paper investigates internal and external factors that led to the steep and recurrent fare increases in the Bangalore city bus services in the period from 2012–2014 which are operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. In order to estimate the impact of the recent bus fare increases that have had on the economically weaker sections of the society dependent on these services, the paper presents the results of a random sampling survey study carried out in a central locality in the city that has a large slum area.The key findings throw light on the various ways in which the low income bus users have adapted to reduce their travel costs through changes in travel behavior, travel pattern and modal shifts. The cost of the behavioral changes through lost opportunities and the cost of the modal shifts of the persons earlier favoring public transportation draw attention to the significance of public transport fare policies. Furthermore, the management and operations of the BMTC agency show scope for improvement which can translate into better revenue generation and consequent reduction in fares.

A Proposed Model for Lead Time Reduction during Maintenance of Public Passenger Transport Vehicles

An efficient public transport system contributes directly to a nation’s growth. It influences the development and growth of industries and thereby helps in increasing the national wealth. Transport services should be made available in such a way that the ‘Right vehicles are in the Right place at the Right time’ which also signifies a profitable business. Reliability of a transport vehicle with its key factors plays an important role in deciding its performance. It is also requires to find out the modifications and changes in the servicing and maintenance methods that are to be followed for reducing the lead time taken. Being an engineer, I considered this as a challenge and experimented in Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Limited by using a new proposed model of vehicle assembly flow line during maintenance in reducing the lead time in order to increase the efficiency of the existing practices. In this particular case the passenger transport vehicle assembly involved is very vital for the passenger’s transport service. Hence, the lead time taken for refurbishing the vehicle is to be minimized. To meet this requirement, all the subsystems which are undergoing refurbishment are to be closely monitored for servicing, testing and delivery to the final assembly line. In addition, some of the assemblies can be carried out in parallel to minimize the lead time. This has resulted in improving the lead time taken from 60 days to 45 days i.e. 25% of lead time can be reduced. This increases the availability of passenger transport vehicle 15 days ahead to the passengers. Managing maintenance, repair and refurbishing is a more challenging task than managing most manufacturing facilities since high degree of uncertainty has to be overcome in such operations.

Air-pollution and economics: diesel bus versus electric bus

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) took an initiative to check the overall benefits of introducing electric buses as a suitable replacement for the diesel buses to tackle the burgeoning pollution in the city of Bengaluru, India. For a trial run of three months, an electric bus was procured from a Chinese company `Build Your Dreams' (BYD). Data were collected by BMTC on the operation and maintenance of the bus. This new initiative, if rightly guided, could have a direct impact on the lives of those in the city. An economic analysis of the running as well as maintenance of the electric buses within the city limits was performed. For comparison, the same analysis was performed for the data from the existing diesel bus operating on the same route. On the basis of the study, it can be concluded that the introduction of electric buses as a means of public transport in the city would be beneficial both economically as well as environmentally. The electric bus also makes much less noise, thereby helping reduce noise pollution and makes less vibration when compared to the diesel bus. This results in a more comfortable journey for the passengers.

Performance Evaluation of Premium Services in Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)

In this paper we are measuring the performance of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) specifically aiming at premium bus services of BMTC operating in Bangalore city. The performance measurement of premium bus services is done using two different approaches. Ratios were computed considering different operational and financial indicators and these ratios are benchmarked by considering the best performing units as the target to compare the bus depots performance. Further we studied the performance of bus depots using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Our analysis indicated that most of the depots are efficient where as depot 13 have significant opportunities for improvements.

Analytic Hierarchy Process to Select Environmentally Conscious Suppliers for Sustainable Supply Chain Management : A Case Study in a Public Sector Transport Corporation

The ever increasing levels of hazardous and toxic waste generated from industrial sector hasten to implement the Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) in all sphere of the business practice. In this research article the authors developed a Supplier Selection model applying Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to select Environmentally Conscious Suppliers (ECS) for one of the maintenance unit of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) providing public passenger transport service in a metropolitan city located in South India. Being a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), the organization has the list of approved suppliers who are pre-qualified to supply the materials and spare parts required to maintain their road vehicles in accordance with the Government’s Public Procurement Policy (PPP). However the growing concern being faced by the organization in the disposal of the hazardous and toxic waste accumulated, which forces them to select suitable suppliers who will comply with the SSCM principles from their pre-qualified list of suppliers.