Managing occupancy rates

One of the biggest challenges public transport is currently facing is ensuring that buses and trains are not overcrowded. This is the only way to regain passengers' trust in the safety of bus and rail transport. With the help of the MOBILEguide passenger guidance system, INIT is breaking new ground and offering a step-by-step solution that traffic operators can use to influence their vehicle capacity. Providing passengers with information about occupancy levels, e.g. via apps, is an important means of control. This enables passengers to select a less crowded service. Initially, information about occupancy levels can be fed into the system using prior knowledge.

As a short-term alternative, drivers can be requested to report when maximum threshold values are being exceeded. In a later stage, MOBILEguide takes into account real-time passenger count data as well as historical data on typical boarding and alighting behavior at individual stops. In a unique process patented in the USA and Europe, the expected car load is determined after passengers alight. In addition to real-time count data, historical data and a self-learning algorithm (AI) are used. This allows passengers to see with the highest possible accuracy in which vehicles there is the most space available.

In rail systems, this information can also be supplied for every individual car and used to ensure passengers are spread evenly across platforms and cars by means of appropriate display systems. In addition to influencing passenger behavior, INIT customers can also intervene directly using the Intermodal Transport Control System MOBILE-ITCS. If a vehicle's occupancy level exceeds a certain threshold value, dispatchers are alerted by the system and can initiate dispatching measures such as additional trips or temporarily switching a vehicle to the "Drop off only” status.