This paper presents a bus tracking and ticketing system that uses GPS and GSM technologies. The system tracks the location of buses using GPS and sends estimated time of arrival information to displays at bus stops. Passengers can also check arrival times on their phones. The system allows passengers to book and pay for tickets digitally. This makes the bus system more efficient and convenient for passengers.

1. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
98
BUS TRACKING AND TICKETING SYSTEM
Mitul Saraiya, Narendra Ravaria, Sanket Padwal, Monil Shah
B.E., Department of Electronics and Telecommunication,
Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering,
ABSTRACT
In this paper, we present the similarity and differences between computer networks and
transit networks. The paper ‘Bus Tracking and Ticketing System’ provides a robust and efficient
transport system. We have developed a simulation model and have tested the effects of transit
services provided to passengers in terms of delay and passenger quality of service. In this paper, we
aim at giving passengers information about the estimated time of arrival of the bus. This is done
using a GPS which tracks the coordinates of the bus and depending upon the speed of the bus
calculates the distance from the bus stop. A message is sent by the passenger standing at the bus stop
to the GSM module which in turn with the help of GPS returns the time in which the bus will arrive.
The LCD unit at the bus stop will display this information to commuters standing at the bus stops.
This concept is further extended by designing an application along with it so as to book the ticket for
the corresponding bus and to maintain a database for ticketing transactions.
Keywords: ATMEGA 640, GSM Module (SIM 300), GPS.
I. INTRODUCTION
BEST buses are one of the major public transport systems in Mumbai. It is one of the largest
bus transport networks in India. There always exists an uncertainty with respect to the time of arrival
of bus at the bus stop. The traffic prevailing on the streets in the metropolitan cities like Mumbai is
the major factor governing the arrival of buses. Although various new systems like electronic
ticketing machines, season cards and smart cards have been implemented to the convenience of both
staff and commuters, there is much more scope for new technology to be implemented. Also
sometimes buses are cancelled due to their breakdown, strikes, water logging on the roads or any
other reason. The commuters are never informed about such cancellation of buses. Till now BEST
has not come up with a powerful communication system to intimate the general public regarding
such delay or even cancellation of buses. The ‘Bus Tracking and Ticketing System’ that is proposed,
aims to provide a robust and efficient system to allow facilities to track buses, know estimated time
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (IJARET)
ISSN 0976 - 6480 (Print)
ISSN 0976 - 6499 (Online)
Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August 2013, pp. 98-105
© IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijaret.asp
Journal Impact Factor (2013): 5.8376 (Calculated by GISI)
www.jifactor.com
IJARET
© I A E M E

2. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
99
of arrival (ETA) of any bus, ability to book tickets in advance and to maintain a database for
ticketing transactions via a versatile application on the Android OS platform.
The challenge would be the method to provide all the required tracking and arrival
information as well as the ticketing facilities to the user on the move. Although one can display this
data and provide such facilities at a bus stop, it defeats the aim of providing flexibility which is a
pivotal part of the project. Hence the Android application is developed as a user interface. Its
purpose is to provide an easy interface to access all the various features of the system and to make
full use of its functionality. Another major problem is the hassles due to the paper tickets. The tickets
need to be punched by the conductor and the conductor always calculates the ticket fare mentally
before issuing the tickets. The details of the destination bus stop or the bus stop where the passenger
got in are not mentioned on the tickets. The proposed bus system would try to meet the needs of the
commuters. Most of the facilities provided by this system will eliminate the problems faced due to
uncertainty of arrival of buses. Commuters would be informed about the various details of the
arriving buses in the most convenient way so that the bus system could function in an orderly
manner.
II. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
The project consists of many transport buses. Each bus has a GSM module and a GPS
receiver on board which determines the co-ordinates of the point where the bus is currently situated.
Each bus individually transmits the co-ordinates via the GSM module to a bus stop where it is
logged on in the processor. The bus stop consists of a GSM module by which it constantly receives
the current position of all the buses which will pass through it and logged onto the central database.
It also consists of a Microcontroller Unit (MCU) which will perform a variety of functions such as
calculation of the distance between the bus and the bus stop, maintaining user information, handling
money transactions etc.
Figure 1: System Block Diagram

3. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
100
By accessing the previous values, it can determine the approximate speed of the bus and
hence estimate the time of arrival of the bus. The data can be displayed on a screen at the bus stop. It
can also track transaction history of a particular customer. Additionally, a facility is also provided
for the users to access the information at the bus stop via their GSM mobile phones. The user can
access the expected buses at the bus stop within a certain time window. Hence, the users can have a
view of the buses that are about to arrive and make a proper decision about their bus routes in
advance without going to the bus stop. This project also offers the capability to book one’s ticket via
SMS. The MCU can be programmed to contain accounts of users by the use of their phone numbers.
On sending a text message in a format that specifies the starting and ending bus-stop of travel, the
MCU calculates the fare for the distance and then deducts the amount from the appropriate account.
Central Announcements are done simultaneously in buses that belong to the same route and
are controlled by central announcement which is equipped with computer workstation and a voice
PC. When this window has input focus, all the user input events in it are also forwarded to voice PC.
The user input is routed from computer workstation to Voice PC through VNC Programming. Audio
signals are transmitted to all buses over this voice line and only those selected buses in the route are
able to play the audio signal. The Central Announcements (CA) using server MMI selects the buses
on which Central Announcements are to be played and triggers a connection request.
Figure 2: Centralized Control System
A telegram (connection request) is sent to PCs of all the selected stations. The PC, upon
receiving the telegram sends a signal to the logic controller box. The CA controller of the logic
controller box is switched ON, wherein all buses are made available to CA. The CA can also make
manual announcement using microphone. An announcement to new buses can be triggered only
when the previous is disconnected.

4. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
101
III. SYSTEM WORKING
Figure 3: Block Diagram of Central Unit
It consists of the following components and program blocks:
GSM Module: It is the programmable SIM 900A GSM module that enables communication
between the bus stop and the bus/user via mobile communication.
GSM Interface program: It is the program written to enable interfacing between the GSM module
and ATMEGA640 microcontroller to enable bidirectional exchange of information so that the
microcontroller can directly access data via the GSM and vice versa.
LCD Display: It is the graphic Liquid Crystal Display that constantly displays information on the
bus stop about the buses with respect to their route, location and crowd density, which are scheduled
to arrive at the bus stop with their estimated time of arrival as well the information received from the
database.
LCD Interface program: It is the program written to enable interfacing between the LCD display
and the ATMEGA640 microcontroller so that information on the buses is constantly being
displayed.
Central Processing Unit: It is the unit that performs all the essential processing and interaction
between all the different programs. All the programs and accesses are executed and controlled by the
CPU. The GSM and the central database are directly interfaced only to the CPU and a program can
access any other program only through the CPU.
Central Database: It is the common database that all different programs of the microcontroller
access via the CPU. It stores the entire information that the CPU is handling. The information
includes user databases with their account balances, position of buses in the vicinity and their
distance from the bus stop money transaction history and code generation.

5. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
102
Bus tracking program: This program accepts the current location co-ordinates of various buses
from the database and constantly enables them to be properly stored in the database for the distance
calculation program.
Distance Calculation program: This program is written to calculate the distance of any particular
bus by its co-ordinates that are stored in the database with respect to the fixed co-ordinates of the bus
stop.
Crowd Estimation program: This program accepts the passenger count that is stored in the
database and estimates the crowd on any given bus and categorizes it according to the density which
is stored back into the database again.
User Information program: This program is written to accept user commands via the GSM and to
determine what information is to be sent to them e.g. information on buses, financial status of the
customer etc.
Code Generation and Validation program: This program is written to generate a unique code for
every transaction made by the user which contains information about the number of passengers,
route etc. The code when entered on the bus allows it to be sent to the bus stop for validation again
to this block which gives an acknowledgement.
Money Transaction program: This program handles all the money transactions in the system with
a history and modifications that are all stored in the database. It also offers the facility for increasing
the balance in the account and repayment options.
Exception handling program: It is written to imply default conditions and to ensure that unforeseen
problems do not disrupt the system.
Figure 4: Block Diagram of BUS Controller

6. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
103
It contains the following components and program blocks
GPS module: It is the embedded GPS module that gives a 5V TTL serial output from its port. The
data is then sent via the GSM module to the bus stop where it is stored in the central database for
tracking and other purposes.
GPS Interface program: This program is written to enable interfacing of the GPS with the
microcontroller via it’s AT command set to enable proper exchange of data.
GSM Module: It is the programmable SIM 900A GSM module that enables communication
between the bus stop and the bus via mobile communication.
GSM Interface program: It is the program written to enable interfacing between the GSM module
and ATMEGA 640 microcontroller to enable bidirectional exchange of information and so that the
microcontroller can directly access data via the GSM and vice versa.
Tracking ISR: The bus stop constantly sends interrupts to the bus via GSM. In response, the service
subroutine in the microcontroller on the bus sends the location co-ordinates via its GSM module,
which it continuously receives from the GPS module to the bus stop for the Bus Tracking program to
perform its function.
Code Check program: This program is written to enable validation of the code that is entered by
the commuter on the bus. The validation acknowledgment is sent back and the Code Check program
gives its output.
Exception handling program: It is written to imply default conditions and to ensure that unforeseen
problems do not disrupt the system.
IV. THE USER GSM
This is the user GSM which can be any normal cell phone that runs on the Android platform.
All the communication to the bus stop via the user is done via this Android enabled device.
The user can access information like schedule and ETA of buses, crowd density of the buses,
his account balance, book tickets etc.
V. ALGORITHM OF MODEL
i. Switch on GSM module at the bus stop.
ii. Select the bus number whose coordinate are to be detected.
iii. Receive the GPS coordinate from the GSM module of the bus.
iv. Calculate the distance between the bus stop and selected buses using Haversine formula.
v. Calculate the time required for the bus to reach to bus stop.
vi. Send the time expected to the LCD or LED display on the bus.
vii. Repeat the process from iii. Unless and until the bus reaches to bus stop. That is the
distance between two GPS co-ordinate.

7. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
104
VI. RESULTS
Figure 5: Ticket Booking Status
It can enable us to discover our desired route by selecting our starting and destination bus
stops. By doing so, we can view a list of all the buses that ply on the selected route. This view also
enables the user to view the historical data based timetable for the entireroute.
The user can directly book a ticket on the same view and amount to be paid is automatically
calculated using the number of passengers entered by the user in the application. The required
amount is deducted from the user’s account when he purchases thetickets. The user receives a
confirmation message and a ticket code.
Figure 6: Bus Expected Time

8. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
105
Every ticket transaction confirmation contains a summary of the ticket which includes cost, number
of passengers and the total amount, along with the uniquely generated code which serves as the
ticket identification number. This view also offers the update button which refreshes the page and
allows the user to access real time tracking updates.
Figure 7: Current Bus Running Status for Booking
VII. CONCLUSION
In this paper, we have explained about an economical way of providing information to the
commuters, as well as using the data for analyzing the traffic patterns, thus altering the bus routes for
increasing efficiency of bus by decreasing the travel time, as well as inducting new bus routes as per
the demand, just by using 2G mobile services. This system can be further improvised by using 3G
technologies, which boasts of better data transfer rates. This system can be further enhanced so as to
develop integrated transport information facilities, wherein two or more public transports systems
can belinked together, and thereby provide enhanced and more accurate information to the
commuters.
VIII. REFERENCES
[1]. www.developer.android.com/index.html
[2]. www.cs.uic.edu/~jakob/cooperative-transit-tracking-sensys10.pdf
[3]. www.cc.gatech.edu/projects/disl/Courses/Group7_Proposal.pdf
[4]. www.cs.cornell.edu/~dph/papers/ktrack.pdf
[5]. www.mobiforge.com/developing/story/sms-messaging-android
[6]. www.stackoverflow.com/questions/4117701/android-sms-broadcast-receiver
[7]. www.vogella.de/articles/Android/article.html
[8]. thenewboston.org/list.php.cat=6
[9]. www.cboard.cprogramming.com/cprogramming/10391-converting-text-pduformat.html.
[10]. www.tronico.fi/OH6NT/docs/NMEA0183.pdf
[11]. www.developer.nokia.com/Community/Wiki/AT_Commands.
[12]. stackoverflow.com/android-getting-a-file-uri-from-a-content-uri