Kohima: Data helps in upgrading public transport

July 4, 2019

Author: K Rhetso

Kohima has a fleet of individual city bus operators providing service for the Public Transport Sector. Due to lack of organised public transport authority, the city has struggled to cater to the needs of all sections of the commuters over the years. This has resulted in increased number of private cars plying on the city roads, which ultimately has resulted in traffic congestion and chaos in the city core. Urban traffic congestion has known adverse effects on the citizens, in-terms of economic productivity, pollution and longer commuting time, etc.

Thus, to improve traffic management and public transportation, Kohima Smart City has identified urban mobility as one of its top priority projects, under which the focus is to improve the public transport system and increase last mile connectivity.

Through the open data collection initiative, existing bus fleet data has been collected from the Transport Authority. The analysis clearly indicates that most of the existing buses are old and do not comply with the current emission norms. The data also highlights that older buses have higher seating capacity which is not ideal for a hilly city like Kohima, which has smaller Right of Way roads.

This data has helped Kohima Smart City Development Ltd. formulate a strategy to modernize its city bus fleet.