UPSRTC Margdarshi App: Pre-Diwali launch promised; no panic buttons in new buses

Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has said that the Margdarshi App will be launched and become operational before Diwali, given the huge number of passengers travelling by bus during the festive period.
The app will give citizens information about on-road buses, among other features. It will inform users about the location of buses, their speed, at what time it will pass which location, and other related information.
Tenders have also been issued for new buses to be inducted into the state fleet with more tenders to be announced on the way. However, these buses will not possess the tracking tech for panic buttons for women’s safety, despite earlier promises to the contrary by the Corporation.
At present, approximately 5,000 buses in the UPSRTC, which are yet to be ‘officially launched’, are fitted with panic buttons. The entire fleet consists of over 12,500 buses, with many more to be added in the coming months.
While the new buses are being purchased for the state fleet, the Corporation has neglected to include the panic button feature in these buses.
Only about half of the buses in the fleet are fitted with tracking technology, which means that they will not all be accurately visible on the Margdarshi App as well. More importantly, in case of an emergency, on these new and old buses without panic buttons, passengers will not be able to raise alerts with the police independently.
General manager (public private partnerships) Yajuvendra Singh, UPSRTC said, “The panic buttons were never installed in the older buses, as they were nearing expiry age, and would eventually be recycled for parts in the near future.”
However, he had also shared in an interview with HT that, “All new buses that will be purchased by the UPSRTC, that these buses come pre-fitted with panic buttons.” Although these panic buttons have been installed and are functional in almost 5,000 buses since April of 2024, they are yet to be officially launched to the public.
“We have not yet officially announced these panic buttons to the passengers yet. We are planning to do that once more buses have the same technology,” said managing director, UPSRTC, Masoom Ali Sarwar. “When we announce it, we will also share information with passengers on how they work and what their purpose is.”
He further said that since the panic buttons have not yet been formally launched, the UPSRTC is not maintaining records or keeping a consistent watch on the potential alerts from the existing panic buttons so far.