Odd-Even: Twitter to Provide Real-Time Public Transport Information

The Delhi government has tied up with Twitter to bring real-time information on public transport for commuters on the social media during the 15 days the odd-even scheme is implemented.

Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai said that Twitter will help commuters find information about bus routes, Metro, autorickshaws during the road-rationing experiment that begins from January 1.

For instance, if a person gets off a Metro train in unknown area, he or she can search for bus or Metro routes with the help of the micro-blogging site, the Minister said.

"Twitter users can get details of public transport available in particular areas by tweeting #pollutionfreeDelhi followed by the departure and destination point."

"Twitter will instantly send users real time public transport updates pertaining to the area," Raheel Khursheed, Director (News, Politics, Govt) of Twitter India.

Apart from that, users, who do not wish to make their location public, can send a message to @transportdelhi and thereafter, he or she will get destination details sent to them by @transportdelhi, he said.

Khursheed said Twitter has started updating all details of public transport and by December 31, all information will be updated by the social networking site.

In a briefing about odd-even scheme, the Transport Minister said that government will run special buses for Noida and Ghaziabad so that people who presently come to Delhi for work in their cars can take buses.

He said that DMRC will also increase frequency of Metro trains during odd-even scheme.

"At present, there are over 2,000 trips of Metro throughout the day. During the 15-day of odd-even scheme, there will be over 3,000 trips of Metro to cater to commuters," he said.

According to the Transport Minister, around 25,000 auto drivers have registered themselves with PoochhO app through which commuters can hire auto-rickshaws and taxis on the line of app-based private taxi services.

Rai said people will get link of PoochhO app on their phones by giving a missed call at 9243007040 and thereafter, they can download the app through Google Play.

"Around 2,700 private buses have registered for plying in Delhi during the odd-even scheme. We aim to register 3,000 private buses under DTC Paryavaran Bus Sewa," he said.

On December 4, the Arvind Kejriwal government had announced that 4,000 buses will be "general" buses while 2,000 buses to be taken from schools after their duty hours and will have 50 percent seats reserved for women.

The government recently issued a helpline - 011-23370209, for applicants who want to register with this new bus service.