Thiruvananthapuram: Global positioning system (GPS) will be made mandatory from October 1 in 23,000 school and college buses in Kerala.

Under this, all Educational Institution Buses (EIB) in the southern State should mandatorily install GPS equipment in their vehicles before the deadline.

The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has published the list of approved GPS units that must be fixed in the vehicles.

To ensure students’ safety, MVD has brought this new project.

The MVD, in association with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), has developed vehicle surveillance system software called “Suraksha Mitra”. The software can track, locate and give real-time data of the vehicles.

This new plan is implemented to avoid accidents. The speed of vehicles can be monitored and the information about possible dangers on the road will also reach the control room immediately.

A tilt sensor was also introduced to detect if the vehicle tilts more than 40 degrees. A panic button will be set to ensure the safety of students. An alarm will ring in the control room when the button is pressed.

The authorities aim to ensure online surveillance of the vehicles to strengthen the security of students. A control room was set up inside the transport commissioner’s office.

The Kerala government had also come up with a notification making GPS equipment mandatory in all public transport vehicles from April 1.

In the beginning, all institutional buses should fix GPS in their vehicle. After October 1, no EIB vehicles will be permitted to use the roads without GPS. The second phase will include other vehicles such as mini vans, auto rickshaws ferrying schoolchildren.