Bus passenger counter saves transport company thousands of pounds per bus

Counting passengers on public transport

Our automated passenger counter system is saving a UK bus company thousands of pounds per bus.

Automatically counting people on and off their buses enabled the company to cross check passenger numbers with ticket machine transactions. With proof that they had more passengers than transactions, the company took steps to remedy the missing fare revenue.

A video counting system is 98% accurate – much more so than manual counting which is only around 85% accurate¹. It is also cheaper.

With video counting you can easily verify the counts, simply by watching the video back.

People are counted on and off the bus in, for example, five minute intervals. Additionally, the system can record times at each stop so is well suited for service planning. The length of time a bus waits at a stop – the dwell time – represents a significant portion of bus operation time.

With automated passenger counts (APCs), bus companies can easily generate reports for external funding agencies like regional authorities. They can also monitor ridership trends over time.

An accurate passenger count is a significant factor in scheduling and forecasting. It is also important in analysing performance, giving measures like passengers per mile, cost per passenger and number of passengers per driver.

Our passenger counting systems are currently providing key data on many bus routes around the UK, Europe and Singapore.

To discuss passenger counting please get in touch – e-mail sales@retailsensing.com. or call +44 (0)161 839 6437.

References

¹Boyle, D. B. (1998). Passenger counting technologies and procedures. TCRP Synthesis of
Transit Practice 29. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.