[VemyhemiHef]

CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday announced that bus conductors with the stateowned transport corporations would be given sophisticated electronic devices to issue passenger tickets and monitor the movement of buses. In the first phase, 5,000 handheld devices would be distributed to conductors. The devices would link 250 bus depots, 19 divisions and six transport corporation headquarters with the central control room in Chennai. The device allows bus offices to keep a track of the number of tickets issued on board the buses, the distance travelled by a passenger, the location of the bus and whether the bus is operating on time. A press statement said, the Chief Minister directed the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services Limited (PTCSL) to complete the tender process within a month to acquire the devices, so that the system would be in place soon.The joint initiative will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and theTamil Nadu government. The Central government is providing Rs 9.37 crore and the State government will spend Rs10.30 crore on the project. At present, about 60 per cent of the conductors on stateowned buses use electronic devices to issue passenger tickets since its introduction in 2007

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