Bus fleet management in Southeast Asia-
Southeast Asia has a bus fleet of more than 19,700 across its major cities. However, barring a few exceptions like Singapore and the metropolitan cities in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, most cities in this region lack advanced systems for bus fleet management. In the absence of a reliable system to manage the fleet, bus movements and speeds are not tracked; as a result, the departure and arrival times of buses are not predictable, especially during peak hours.
Even the cities that do have modern bus fleet management solutions and global positioning system (GPS)-based tracking devices are constrained by limited coverage, which varies widely from country to country. Some successful examples include the GPS-based vehicle tracking system and electronic signboards employed in Putrajaya, Malaysia, as well as the advanced bus tracking and route information systems for providing real-time information on bus activities in Singapore.
Other ongoing initiatives comprise Thailand’s electronic vehicle registration system for tracking bus movements and speeds through radio frequency identification (RFID) tags; the advanced fleet management and passenger information system in Jakarta; and the GPS-based vehicle tracking system in Kuala Lumpur. In addition, plans are being formulated to deploy similar systems in Vietnam, the Philippines, and some cities in Malaysia.
Southeast Asia Infrastructure provides a review of the fleet management solutions adopted by some of the leading economies in the region to improve bus operations.
Malaysia: State-of-the-art tracking and communications technologies
Malaysia’s first ever fleet management system for tracking bus operations was set up in the city of Putrajaya. The city operates one of the most advanced fleet control and tracking systems for providing real-time passenger information. Buses have GPS-enabled tracking devices that transmit information on bus locations, routes, and estimated arrival times to the control centre through the communications modem. Light emitting diode and liquid crystal display screens displaying the estimated time of arrival of the buses are available at every bus stop. The bus arrival information is also available online and via SMS.
In Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) has been operating a trunk feeder bus route since 2004. Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana), Malaysia’s biggest urban public transport asset owner, under which RapidKL functions, serves about 169 bus routes in the Klang Valley, which cover Kuala Lumpur and its suburban areas.
Prasarana has developed a comprehensive fleet tracking system for its entire bus fleet. Each bus is equipped with a GPS-enabled device that allows the bus control centre to monitor bus movements. The GPSs-based tracking system that covers all 169 routes served by RapidKL provides information on current bus locations, driver details, route patterns, bus speed, etc. Further, the buses are equipped with front, side, and rear electronic destination boards to display information on the destinations. Trunk radios on every bus allow bus drivers to communicate with officials at the control centre about issues such as traffic flow and the occurrence of accidents. In addition, 52 out of the total of 59 electronic signboards have been installed at major transit hubs to provide information on buses servicing the transit hub and their estimated time of arrivals, as of July 2013.
Recently, in July 2013, Prasarana signed a turnkey contract with GMV Innovating Solutions for developing a fleet management system for Kuantan’s public bus transport system. As part of the project, GMV will install passenger information systems at every bus stop, which will display estimated time of arrival and provide voice information for the visually handicapped. Buses will be tracked by GMV’s onboard REC30 unit: the system comprises a tracking device, fleet management equipment, and CCTV video recorder.
Singapore: Expanding roll-out of technological solutions
SMRT Corporation Limited and SBS Transit Limited, the two multimodal transport companies in Singapore operating the city’s bus fleet, have been active in implementing technology solutions for fleet management.
SBS Transit that owns about 75 per cent of the scheduled bus market share in Singapore has deployed an advanced vehicle tracking system to manage its fleet and provide passengers with real-time bus arrival information. The bus operator provides information on bus arrivals on a real-time basis through its intelligent route information system-based NextBus service. Currently, this facility is available only on critical routes/stops, though the operator is expanding its reach. SBS Transit has equipped some of its buses with automatic vehicle management system-based tracking devices. This system tracks the exact locations of buses on a real-time basis, along with information on relevant route patterns and estimated bus arrival times. It also updates the travel times of buses on a real-time basis, depending on traffic conditions.
In the case of SMRT, it has installed a GPS-based fleet tracking system on its chartered buses to provide real-time information on vehicle departure and arrival times. However, limited efforts have been made to deploy similar technologies in public utility buses. In January 2012, SMRT launched SMRTConnect, a mobile application for iPhone users: this application allows commuters to locate bus stops and get real-time information on chartered bus arrival times. Going forward, SMRT is planning to launch a similar facility for Android phone users.
Thailand: Initiating comprehensive technological measures to monitor traffic
Thailand’s Land Transport Department is developing an electronic vehicle registration system to monitor vehicle movements efficiently. In 2011, a pilot project was initiated to install RFID tags on 1,000 passenger minivans in Bangkok. The scope of this project has since been extended to cover all vehicles across Thailand, particularly public sector buses. As of April 2012, the Thailand government has made it mandatory for all buses and passenger vans in Thailand to install RFID tags for speed management.
The EVR system is operational in most parts of Bangkok. A wide network of RFID tag readers, CCTV cameras for visual identification, and automatic licence plate recognition cameras have been deployed to track vehicles across Bangkok.
Furthermore, the Department of Land Transport has installed a GPS-based bus monitoring system on the inter-provincial buses of Transport Company Limited. The GPS-based fleet tracking system provides real-time information on bus activities such as speeds, idle time, and the number of hours spent on the road.
Attempts have also been made by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) to improve fleet management through the vehicle tracking system. Earlier, BMTA had installed a GPS- and GPRS-based tracking system for monitoring buses plying four routes in a pilot project that covered 100 buses. The system was equipped to undertake real-time monitoring of bus movements and provide information on the flow of traffic and bus fleet. However, it has failed to produce satisfactory results: bus arrivals remain unpredictable.
Indonesia: Investing in advanced fleet management systems
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, has developed one of the largest bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in the world. The BRT system is managed by BLU TransJakarta, a technical unit of Jakarta Transportation Agency, under the brand name TransJakarta. The system currently comprises 12 corridors spanning over 195 km. Nonetheless, neither the existing bus fleet nor its network has been sufficient to serve the city’s needs.
BLU TransJakarta has deployed a GPS-based vehicle tracking system to monitor a part of its bus fleet. A control centre has been set up for real-time monitoring of vehicle movements and the assessment of the accuracy of estimated bus arrival times. Further, electronic panels have been installed at bus stops to provide internet-based information on the estimated times of bus arrivals and route patterns, with voice information for visually handicapped passengers.
Going forward, the Jakarta government is planning to develop an advanced fleet management and passenger information system for the entire bus fleet of the TransJakarta BRT system. Recently, in January 2013, GMV Innovating Solutions was awarded the turnkey contract to develop the advanced system. GMV plans to install the system on the entire fleet – bus lines involving more than 600 buses – and over 200 stations by 2014.
Long road ahead
The rapid growth in population, combined with increasing traffic congestion, is expected to drive the market for the development of intelligent transport systems in the region. Sensing the need for providing more efficient bus fleets, most governments have launched projects to incorporate advanced fleet management technologies including intelligent transport systems into their bus fleets and network. For instance, Vietnam plans to make it mandatory for all bus operators to deploy certified GPS-based or black box tracking devices for monitoring bus movements.
Furthermore, initiatives are being undertaken to deploy advanced fleet management and vehicle tracking systems to provide information on bus departure and arrival times to passengers. Malaysia is deploying an advanced fleet tracking and passenger information system for public buses in the city of Kuantan. The Philippines government is also stepping up efforts to install a bus management and dispatch system to regulate the number of public utility buses in Metro Manila.
As most governments strive to improve the quality of urban transportation services, more advanced fleet management systems will likely be introduced to provide efficient and low-cost bus operations. In the long run, these initiatives are expected to strengthen public transport systems, enhance the efficiency of services, and attract more passengers. However, for a modal shift to occur, there is a need not only to expand the networks of public buses, but also integrate them with other commuting options.
