State keen to tie-up with Uber to avail data to address city's transport woes

Kolkata: The Bengal government is keen on forging a tie-up with Uber to avail data to address the city's transportation problems and also to aid the experts in the transportation sector to make data-driven decisions and understand the traffic challenges.

'Movement', a data-insight tool was launched in the city by Uber which may prove to be handy for the government departments. It will also help the officials in the transport department to improve the mobility patterns of the city. Kolkata will be the fifth city to gain data-driven insights from Uber's proprietary platform, after Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Debashis Sen Chairman HIDCO, while inaugurating the Kolkata leg of the multi-city initiative said: "We welcome Uber's move to share its data in respect to Kolkata for smart solutions to its complex urban transportation problems. I call upon more private and public sector institutions to provide data to create a 'Data Lake' from which expert analysts and Artificial Intelligence identify solutions. In Smart City New Town Kolkata, we have published a draft data policy and created a policy framework for all entities to contribute. We need to harness the power of public-private partnerships for a better future trajectory."

Ratul Ghosh, the head of East India at Uber said: "Kolkata is a priority market for us and we are deeply committed to partnering with the city and bringing the benefits of mobility to help build smarter, more efficient cities. We are excited to launch 'Movement' in the city and hope this will encourage governments and experts in transportation to understand transportation challenges and opportunities in Kolkata. We also aim to continue playing a key role in solving local mobility challenges and helping shape efficient urban transport in the city." A case study, 'Examining the impact of the AJC Bose Road flank of Parama Flyover on travel times', was also published during the programme highlighting the positive impact of the newly constructed flank of the flyover. The data shows an average decrease of 20-30 per cent in travel time between EM Bypass and Race Course during January 2019, and the following months, February to June 2019, after the flyover was inaugurated.