Abstract
The prevalence of overloading, which is exceeding the maximum load weight, on public buses in Zambia is very rampant because there is currently no system to measure and monitor load weight at bus stations, apart from weighbridges on few selected roads located far away from the loading points. The aim of this study was to design and develop a passenger and luggage weight monitoring system to mitigate the challenge of overloading on public buses. To achieve this, a baseline study was conducted to appreciate the challenges of the current system being used to manage passenger and luggage, i.e., load weight, on public buses. The risk factors considered to contribute to compromised road safety leading to road traffic accidents were also established from all stakeholders as follows: 54 percent human, 39 percent road/environmental, 6 percent vehicle and 1 percent was attributed to other factors. The results were then used as a basis to design and develop a load weight monitoring system (LWMS) based on sensing and other emerging technologies like Load Cells, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), Internet of Things (IoT), and Cloud Computing concepts to automate the measurement of the load weight, capture and transmit data.
Highlights
The use of emerging technologies in today’s world has greatly improved the way of life, including application in industry and business enterprises to improve organization and business processes
This research study brought out important points on the fact that the challenge of overloading on public buses in Zambia is related to one of the factors that contribute to road traffic accidents, that is, the human factor
Further analysis of human factors revealed that a number of issues ranging from social-economic factors to survival requirements contribute to the crew overload the buses to make extra income without the knowledge of the bus owners/operators and contravening road traffic regulations
Summary
The use of emerging technologies in today’s world has greatly improved the way of life, including application in industry and business enterprises to improve organization and business processes. The Public Transport Sector has embraced the new era of emerging technologies such as the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Communication, Cloud Computing, Motion and Weight Sensing, and “big data” analysis [2] which has created a new global potential for less costly “Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)” to improve road safety and more efficiently manage transport assets. In 1992 the public transport sector in Zambia was liberalized from state owned to private ownership. This resulted in sharp rise in the number of bus operators and buses. The current public transport sector is largely unregulated though the government through local authorities and various agencies regulate, enforce and superintendent over bus stations, bus registration and licensing, transport fares, road safety, and axial load control, among others [3]
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