‘Real-time location, AI and quick ambulances in accident’: NHAI plans to upgrade its 1033 helpline

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to upgrade its existing 1033 helpline with Artificial Intelligence (AI), real-time location tracking and smart emergency-response systems to provide better assistance to the commuters.

The 1033 helpline is a crucial system to save lives in road accidents since national highways account for over 36% of road deaths, though it forms only 2.3% of the total road network. The emergency response system is important especially for the "Golden hour"- the first 60 minutes after an accident.

Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) — the NHAI company which runs 1033 — has invited an Expression of Interest (EOI) from companies and consortia for the development, design, deployment, operation and maintenance of the next generation 1033 helpline.

This is to gather technical recommendations and industry feedback before issuing Request for Proposal (RFP) for final contract award. Officials said that the helpline currently covers more than 1.46 lakh km of National Highways and receives around 15,000 calls every day.

The next-gen 1033 service will identify the location of callers, understand calls in different Indian languages and send the right assistance to the location more quickly, said the IHMCL official. However, human operators will continue to play an important role, especially in emergencies where human judgement and decision-making are essential.

The renewed platform is aimed at providing benefits to the highway users such as Intelligent systems to help identify and send the most suitable ambulance, crane or patrol vehicle; AI-assisted handling of calls in different Indian languages, real-time capture of the caller's location to help emergency teams reach the spot and timely advisories to highway users about incidents and other important developments.

Under the existing system, the caller often has to re-state information across from one person to another and the system relies heavily on callers verbally describing landmarks or manual location entry by agents. However, in the new system, the user has to state their problem only once and the system itself will identify the location.

Apart from this, currently the system allocates emergency resources such as ambulances using straight line distance calculation. However, the new system will deploy the dynamic dispatch algorithm based on live road ETA, factoring in real-time traffic and carriageway geometry to recommend the nearest suitable resource within 30 seconds.

The IHMCL has also proposed the full integration of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) under the new system, along with the Rajmargyatra citizen app etc. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with the Business Bureau of The Indian Express.

He plays a critical role in covering India's massive infrastructure sectors, providing in-depth reporting on the connectivity lifelines of the nation. Expertise & Focus Areas: Mishra’s journalism is focused on two of the country's most capital-intensive and public-facing ministries: Ministry of Railways: Tracking the operations, safety, and development of India's vast railway network.

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways: Covering policy decisions, infrastructure projects, and highway development. What sets Mishra apart is his rigorous use of the Right to Information (RTI) Actas a primary tool for news gathering.

By relying on official data and government records, he ensures a high degree of accuracy and trustworthiness in his reporting. This data-driven approach has resulted in numerous impactful reports that hold public institutions accountable and bring transparency to government operations.

Find all stories by Dheeraj Mishra here ... Read More