A Field Study of Internet of Things-Based Solutions for Automatic Passenger Counting

Chris Mccarthy,Yehuda Weizman,Adin Ming Tan,Franz Konstantin Fuss,Hadi Ghaderi,Dimitrios Georgakopoulos,Ali Yavari,Matthew Simmons,Irene Moser,Hussein Dia,Prem Prakash Jayaraman,Ubaid Mehmood

doi:10.1109/ojits.2021.3111052

Abstract

The planning of public transport operations is an essential component of urban transport management systems that aims to provide the most efficient, safe and effective way to support movement of people. Improving the customer journey experience is a key focus, as cities grow and sustainable public transport becomes more critical. This has led to an increased interest in Automatic Passenger Counting (APC) technologies that provide real-time estimates of occupancy in order to support better planning and customer information. The proliferation of sensors and power-efficient miniaturized computing capabilities offer a range of low-cost and versatile APC choices. However, it is important to understand the various design and implementation considerations and trade-offs of the APC technologies in the context of transport operation scenarios they are deployed in. In this paper, we present outcomes of a field study that evaluated the four APC solutions video, floor-based sensing, WiFi and Infrared sensing. We present an evaluations methodology that authentically captures operating conditions while providing a robust way to assess APC solutions. While most technologies achieve over 70% accuracy in some settings, the differences between weekend trips with longer legs and weekday services with short distances between stops lead to stark variations in the performances.

Highlights

I NTEREST in the development of technologies that provide real-time monitoring and tracking of public transport utilisation is a growing area of interest as cities grow and seek sustainable, optimized public transport services that are both cost effective and provide a high quality customer experience
We present a trial methodology that takes into consideration several aspects of automatic people counting (APC) solutions especially those related to the practicality, scalability and accuracy of each solution
The sensor mat achieves a substantially better accuracy of 95%, suggesting the approach was relatively robust to passengers occupying the door area

Summary

INTRODUCTION

I NTEREST in the development of technologies that provide real-time monitoring and tracking of public transport utilisation is a growing area of interest as cities grow and seek sustainable, optimized public transport services that are both cost effective and provide a high quality customer experience. Each APC solution presented in this research provides unique scientific novelties, which are detailed in the relevant sections. Because activating them presents pricing structure as well as customer disruption issues In these situations, usage statistics are obtained manually by marshals on the ground who provide paper-based estimates of passenger numbers for each bus as it is boarded. The lack of adequate data means there is no effective feed-back loop that creates an evidence base for the estimation of current performance and future service level needs This introduces a number of risks: (1) over-procurement of replacement buses at cost and subsequent under-utilisation, or (2) under-procurement of replacement services resulting in a negative customer experience through crowding or long waiting times. The availability of real-time replacement bus location information provides waiting passengers access to up-to-date information on the running of these services

PASSENGER COUNTING PROBLEM

RELATED WORK

DATA COLLECTED IN FIELD TRIAL

CONCLUSION