Xerox pilots new app to help commuters with cheap & faster travel modes

BANGALORE, INDIA: Building on the Go LA and Go Denver pilots currently underway in the U.S., Xerox Research Centre India (XRCI) is piloting the Go Bengaluru app which will help the commuters choose the cheaper, faster and more sustainable travel options in the city.

The Go Bengaluru app is now available for iOS and Android users.

Bangalore has a rapidly growing population and the need for an effective Urban Mobility solution is clearly evident in this city.

According to Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) 2011 report, private vehicles in Bangalore moved at the speed of 23 Kmph. In five years, the speed has come down to 18 Kmph, lower than Mumbai and Delhi.

The app captures both public and private transport optuions and computes the shortest and most sustainable way to get to your destination. It is also the first app aggregator to include Bengaluru’s new metro line along with BMTC bus services.

“There are individual apps for public transit, car sharing and other transportation options, but we wanted to leverage technology to go beyond a single mode of transportation and provide a broad range of mobility options to fellow citizens and reduce traffic congestion in our cities” said Manish Gupta, Xerox vice president and Xerox Research Centre India director. “The Go Bengaluru app captures the array of options in a hyper-local way, mixing and matching both public and private transportation options. Beyond the seamless travel experience for citizens, Go Bengaluru will help the city collect important information they can use to advance their transportation

XRCI will be working with BMTC and Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to improve the public transport route options and ETA’s provided in the app.

Here's how Go Bengaluru works for residents and visitors:

The app takes an individual’s destination and desired arrival time, and calculates the different routes available, categorized by “sooner,” “cheaper,” and “greener.” The app aggregates and calculates the time, cost, carbon footprint, and health benefits from walking, biking, driving your own car, parking, taking public transit, as well as the emerging private transportation options.

Customers can also save trips they take often, like from home to work, in their “My Rides” area of the app.

The way forward:

Working with its partners, Xerox will integrate more transportation service providers into the app as the pilot progresses so users can choose from a wider range of options.

The app will also pilot ridesharing later this year so that users can carpool with people traveling in the same direction in a way that give the control over route and co-passengers back to users.

After enough data is collected, users will also be able to create a profile where they can set goals related to their personal fitness, financials and time, and track them within the app.