BTP ASTraM app, a one stop platform for all commuter needs, launched

Commuters get real-time updates of traffic congestion, events like traffic diversions, vehicle breakdowns that will affect their commute within a 5-km radius from their location.
| Photo Credit: file photo

The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) have launched a new mobile app, BTP ASTraM, which they say is a “one-stop solution for all commuter needs”. Commuters can not only report traffic violations, accidents, check and pay their traffic fines, but also get real-time traffic updates. There is also an SoS emergency help button in the app that will bring help from the nearest police personnel. 

The BTP launched their big data platform Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management (ASTraM) in January, 2024. The platform collates data from 9,000 police cameras in the city, cab aggregators, various firms that provide map services in the city, and public transport utilities, to provide insights into traffic patterns both in real time and also do predictive analysis based on previous data.

“Now, the BTP ASTraM app will provide the benefits of this big data platform to commuters of the city. Commuters get real-time updates of traffic congestion, events like traffic diversions, vehicle breakdowns that will affect their commute within a 5-km radius from their location. Commuters can also subscribe to the My Routes feature in the app, where their daily commute routes from home to office and return will be saved and real-time alerts about traffic situations on this route will be triggered to their mobiles,” M.N. Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru, said here on Wednesday. 

To this platform, the BTP have integrated other features that were available on other apps or only on their website to make BTP ASTraM the only app that commuters need to download henceforth. “We have integrated the Public Eye feature, where commuters used to report traffic rule violations. Now, on the ASTraM app, commuters can report accidents and violations. Not only that, commuters can check for the traffic fines levied on their vehicles and pay them on the same app,” Mr. Anucheth said. 

Digital Twin for the entire city traffic  

The BTP have also embarked on an ambitious project to create a digital twin of the entire city’s real-time traffic scenario, which Mr. Anucheth said, should be ready by March, 2025. A digital twin is a virtual model of a system which is simulated with real-time data to predict the behaviour of its real world counterpart. 

“For the first time, an attempt is being made to create a digital twin of a city as big as Bengaluru with such heavy traffic. Earlier, such attempts have been made to make digital twins for traffic of smaller European cities. As of now, we have successfully created a digital twin for the city’s traffic. But we are working with Namma Metro and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to overlay their data to the existing model. Imagine, there is a big concert at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). Then if we have the data for metro ridership, we can alert BMTC to deploy more feeder buses, apart from the simulation guiding our own arrangements,” Mr. Anucheth said.