Anbessa Bus Transport Enterprise, Ethiopia is to send a team of four overseas to study methods of electronic ticketing and global positioning system technology to be utilized for fleet tracking.
The management of the Ethiopian city bus service is yet to decide which country the team will visit although India is the most probable choice according to Bedlu Assefa General Manager of Anbessa.
The team will be made up of Bedlu and two others from the Enterprise and a representative from the city administration he said. Anbessa is not yet sure how much the trip will cost.The bus service requires additional knowledge of what will work in Ethiopia said Bedlu.
Anbessa had set out a budget of 10 million birr to finance new technology in the 2011/12 fiscal year said the General Manager.
The city bus enterprise will have to install card readers on its fleet to implement electronic ticketing system, a server that records data on sales and settles accounts at the companies head office and card recharging at the four bus terminals across the city.
Anbessa expects to utilize the GPS system to track its fleet and pinpoint exact locations of the buses. The GPS devices will be installed on all vehicles to be monitored at the head office.
It is expected that the new technologies will change the way the Enterprise works although the management is quick to reassure the job security of the 680 conductors employed by the company currently.
Source: Addis Fortune
