‘Track Me’ Safety Feature Yet to Reach Public Transport Vehicles in Tripura One Year After Launch in Tripura

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, May 22, 2026

Nearly one year after the Tripura government formally launched the ‘Track Me’ safety feature and Vehicle Location Tracking System (VLTS) for public transport vehicles, the ambitious initiative meant to ensure the safety of women and senior citizens is yet to see actual implementation in the state’s transport network.

The system was inaugurated on July 2 last year by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha at Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala. During the launch, the Transport Department introduced the ‘Track Me’ feature through the 112 India mobile application and initially integrated the system with 16 vehicles operated by the Transport and Police departments.

At that time, the government had announced that the safety feature would gradually become mandatory for all private buses and public transport vehicles operating in the state. However, despite the passage of nearly a year, there has been no visible expansion of the system. According to sources linked with the transport sector, not a single private passenger vehicle and reportedly not even additional government vehicles has been fitted with the mandatory tracking and panic button mechanism.

The issue has once again come into focus after Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, while addressing the passing out parade of the 91st and 92nd batch of Tripura Police personnel at KTD Singh Police Training Academy on Thursday, highlighted the ‘Track Me’ initiative as a major achievement. The Chief Minister claimed that Tripura became the first state in the country to launch such a feature.

However, questions are now being raised over the practical utility of the system when the core infrastructure, installation of Vehicle Location Tracking devices and SOS panic buttons in passenger vehicles, remains largely absent from the state’s public transport network.

As per the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), installation of Vehicle Location Tracking Systems and emergency panic buttons in public service vehicles is mandatory to ensure passenger safety, particularly for women, senior citizens, and vulnerable commuters.

Notably, the ‘Track Me’ feature is especially designed for women travelling alone, elderly citizens, late-night passengers, or those travelling without adult family members. Once activated, the user’s live location and movement details are transmitted directly to the ERSS (Emergency Response Support System) control room.

In any emergency situation, users can press the “Danger Button” available on the 112 India application. The alert immediately activates emergency response services, following which the nearest police unit or emergency response vehicle is dispatched to the location for rapid assistance.

Police authorities further stated that the ERSS team has already conducted successful trial runs of the system and claimed the technology is fully operational from the control room side.

The broader Vehicle Location Tracking System was launched by the Transport Department to monitor public transport vehicles in real time through GPS-enabled tracking connected to a centralized control room. The initiative was projected as a major step toward enhancing passenger security, road safety, and emergency response management in Tripura.

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