Many public transit systems rely on automated passenger counters (APC) to calculate ridership, justify future funding and optimize planning for their agencies. APC can improve planning and scheduling as well as help reallocate resources to correspond with demand. Using APC as a stand-alone system can provide reports per stop, door, trip or route and line.

However, combining an APC system with an automatic vehicle location (AVL) system gives greater functionality to an agency. The benefits include real-time stop and route identification, as well as more flexibility with trip add-ons or re-routes.

If an agency uses a stand-alone APC system in parallel to a separate AVL system, it may become expensive to maintain due to the use of two separate systems. The agency would need to maintain a second database for data import and a separate reporting system. In addition, the cost of training staff on two different vendor systems may lead to higher project management expenses and prolong the successful operation of the agency’s resources.

So, what is the solution?

It is important for any agency to analyze the different APC solutions available on the market today. It is also important to evaluate vendors to find a company that can provide a combined APC and AVL solution. Some vendors provide active sensor technology on the bus or light rail vehicles as their only option for accurate APC. However, laser sensor technology today has advanced to a new level.

Nowadays, vendors offering combined active and passive sensor technology give agencies a cutting-edge advantage. The most advanced sensor to date is the IRMA (Infrared Motion Analyzer) 3D sensor and analyzer. Signal recordings from an APC system using combined laser technology are shown below.

Data Accuracy
An APC or AVL system can only be as accurate as the data that is maintained in the scheduling database. It is recommended that agencies use a survey tool to generate accurate scheduling information and maintain the database. The survey tool can calculate the mean values for stop positions and also the mean values for distances. The data can then be analyzed and generated with the APC system. The onboard computer of an APC system should be able to analyze the distances and update the scheduling data automatically.

Data Security
Today, the latest technology for secure data transfer is by WPA2. Integrating APC and AVL as a combined system will require the most secure method of data transfer. This should be outlined in the agency’s RFP as the information uploaded to the central system needs to be conducted on a secure network.