K. Ramamurthy, Chief Systems Manager, KSRTC![]() Mr. Ramamurthy has more than 23 years of experience and is currently serving as Chief of IT Department and spearheading all the innovative IT and ITES projects of KSRTC. These projects including AWATAR-Web based Passenger Reservation System, Electronic Ticketing, and Automated Driving Test Track System for the selection of Drivers and Driver cum Conductors, ERP solutions, in-house administrative Software Systems etc. have brought many awards and laurels to KSRTC. He believes the challenge for him lies in his ability to bring value additions in meeting the requirements of passenger amenities and KSRTC management through IT solutions Mr. Ramamurthy did his Masters in Computer Applications and has a degree in Management studies. 1. Could you tell us about the various e - governance projects initiated by KSRTC and at what stages those are at? KSRTC is the leading State Transport Undertaking in the country to have initiated and successfully implemented many e-governance projects. The major projects include complete implementation of electronic ticketing machines, web based reservation system, totally automated driving track system for the selection of skilled drivers etc. Apart from the above, there are many tailor made e-governance projects being handled to suit the functional requirements of various departments of KSRTC. These projects are well accepted by staff of KSRTC and highly appreciated by the public. These projects are being added with many value added services and features to offer maximum benefits to the travelling public and KSRTC management.
2. Your 'AWATAR' tool is the first of its kind. Any plans of how you might want to further extend and scale this solution? It has been five years since ‘AWATAR’ is implemented. Based on the success of the project and keeping in mind the popularity of the services, we are in the process of implementation of ‘AWATAR 2.0’ version with clear focus on scalability of the operations. The features planned through AWATAR 2.0 are-
3. Could you share some insights/highlights of the AWATAR implementation?
4. Any unique facilities that are provided to your customers as a result of this implementation? Value added services like Integration with BangaloreOne counters and leading reservation websites have been facilitated. KSRTC has offered the passenger to book the seat through – direct e booking using debit/credit card. Also, KSRTC has introduced seat booking through mobile phones. The website gives place-wise search facility guiding for hassle-free reservation. The map based search service for high-end services have also been included in the website. Encouraged by the success of e-booking, KSRTC introduced ‘URL based Mobile Booking application’ to book bus tickets. Passengers can access the URL www.
5. Could you share some initial user experiences or reaction of this tool? The growth in reservation and patronage to KSRTC bus traveling itself shows the popularity of this system. The user experiences have been great and currently we have more than 15 lakh registered users. This office receives many e-mails suggesting making the reservation tool even richer.
6. The various awards you have won for this project? KSRTC has won many prestigious awards for taking up IT initiatives both at a national and international level. Following are the awards bagged exclusively by AWATAR project.
7. Could you comment on the social impact you think this solution has had Socially, we believe we have made good impact. Our initiative has led to 8. Could you tell us about the partnership with IBM on this project? We have been in partnership with IBM on our AWATAR tool. It has been good this far and we hope to continue this partnership going forward. 9. What would be your next big investment in 2011? At KSRTC our next big investment would be ERP, Vehicle Tracking System, Intelligent Transport System with PIS features, Material Management System etc. |