TfL trials passenger counting tech

BUSES

Transport for London has launched a trial of five automatic passenger counting technologies on London bus services. 

The three-month trial will run on seven buses and test:

• Cameras aimed across the bus floor observing the footsteps of passengers getting on and off the bus

• Real-time analysis of existing safety camera footage

• Sensors over each door of the bus

• Analysis of the changes to the bus weight and air pressure

• Use of depersonalised WiFi connection data

Simon Reed, TfL’s head of surface technology and data, said: “We use a range of methods, such as ticketing data and manual paper surveys, to understand how customers travel across London, but we cannot measure in real-time the number of people on a given bus. 

“We hope this trial will show us the best way to identify real-time bus usage, which in turn could help us plan our network better, run it more effectively and greatly enhance live customer information.”