Any systems available to count number of customers on a bus?
Discussion
I'm about to launch a Uni bus service, but need a way of theft proofing the system. I'm worried that a driver will be able to say he's run empty when in fact he has £50 worth of fares aboard.
I cannot for the life of me find any kind of system that will count number of bums on seats and calculate the fare, then report that back to the office. Surely it's all possible via GPRS mobile internet etc. And surely all bus companies face the same issues.
Can anyone help (or make a really simple suggestion!!)?
I cannot for the life of me find any kind of system that will count number of bums on seats and calculate the fare, then report that back to the office. Surely it's all possible via GPRS mobile internet etc. And surely all bus companies face the same issues.
Can anyone help (or make a really simple suggestion!!)?
russ_a said:
you need something that counts people when they get on the bus rather than bums on seats. Some shops and pubs use them to do a head count, not heard of them on buses though.
I would employ someone that won't pinch your money
Everyone will pinch money if they think it's unrecorded! I would employ someone that won't pinch your money
Pragmatically, the simplest solution would be a CCTV system to prevent vandalism, then you can review every now and again to get a feel for how many people were on the bus.
Given its for students, some form of 3G wireless on the bus could mean you can access the CCTV any time you fancy.
Blakey for the 21st Century...
Given its for students, some form of 3G wireless on the bus could mean you can access the CCTV any time you fancy.
Blakey for the 21st Century...
randlemarcus said:
Pragmatically, the simplest solution would be a CCTV system to prevent vandalism, then you can review every now and again to get a feel for how many people were on the bus.
Given its for students, some form of 3G wireless on the bus could mean you can access the CCTV any time you fancy.
Blakey for the 21st Century...
Awesome... the threat of being caught out would be enough really.Given its for students, some form of 3G wireless on the bus could mean you can access the CCTV any time you fancy.
Blakey for the 21st Century...
Something like a 3G wireless router, connected to an IP camera, with a Dynamic DNS client on the router will do it.
Then all you need to do is go to http://kingrichardsfunbus.dyndns.org and have a squizz at the footage.
You might want to add in some form of solid state recording for the camera (and make sure its good enough to make out troublemakers) so as to reassure the driver its for their benefit, not purely to keep their hands out of the till.
Then all you need to do is go to http://kingrichardsfunbus.dyndns.org and have a squizz at the footage.
You might want to add in some form of solid state recording for the camera (and make sure its good enough to make out troublemakers) so as to reassure the driver its for their benefit, not purely to keep their hands out of the till.
randlemarcus said:
Something like a 3G wireless router, connected to an IP camera, with a Dynamic DNS client on the router will do it.
Then all you need to do is go to http://kingrichardsfunbus.dyndns.org and have a squizz at the footage.
You might want to add in some form of solid state recording for the camera (and make sure its good enough to make out troublemakers) so as to reassure the driver its for their benefit, not purely to keep their hands out of the till.
I'm thinking a combination of CCTV, maybe live or even on an auto download when the bus comes back near depot combined with a basic ticket machine that dispenses money-off vouchers for our cab service (as it's a student bus, they'll bloody well ask for their tickets!).Then all you need to do is go to http://kingrichardsfunbus.dyndns.org and have a squizz at the footage.
You might want to add in some form of solid state recording for the camera (and make sure its good enough to make out troublemakers) so as to reassure the driver its for their benefit, not purely to keep their hands out of the till.
CCTV seems a pretty good option to do spot checks, but for live and accurate reporting you'd either need 'human recognition' software, which I think is available or maybe a simpler solution...
Now there's going to be problems with this and I've already thought of a few whilst typing; but my first thought was weight.
Measure the sprung weight of the bus.
If every bus is fuelled in the morning and uses x fuel over the course of the day you'll know how much the bus weights with the driver at any point in time.
Your passengers will have an approx average weight which you can tweak over time (in the algorithm, not their weight) let the passengers off before you let the new ones on and you'll always have a very close approximation of how many people are on the bus, live data in real-time reports.
Stops manual counting if nothing else.
Best,
Don
Now there's going to be problems with this and I've already thought of a few whilst typing; but my first thought was weight.
Measure the sprung weight of the bus.
If every bus is fuelled in the morning and uses x fuel over the course of the day you'll know how much the bus weights with the driver at any point in time.
Your passengers will have an approx average weight which you can tweak over time (in the algorithm, not their weight) let the passengers off before you let the new ones on and you'll always have a very close approximation of how many people are on the bus, live data in real-time reports.
Stops manual counting if nothing else.
Best,
Don
bishbash said:
Tell your drivers that it's company policy to do spot checks, also students are always after a few extra quid you could prehaps recruit one or 2 (with a free bus pass) to be mystery shoppers, and get them to check for you. Probably cheaper than cctv etc.
Yeah but the fare would still be taken...Interested in this weight idea or 'Human Recognition software'. More googling
I think your over-complicating the problem, why not just tell drivers they have to give a ticket for every fare, put signs up saying there will be £50 fine if people are caught on the bus without a ticket, therefore anyone paying will ensure they get a ticket.
Count how many tickets you give to the driver, count how much money they give back to you and how many tickets they have left. Ask them to account for any differences. Spot check each route randomly a couple of times a month. Job done. Surely even if there was the occasional 'hand in the till' the cost of a system to weigh the bus/CCTV cameras would be far more than any losses incurred.
Count how many tickets you give to the driver, count how much money they give back to you and how many tickets they have left. Ask them to account for any differences. Spot check each route randomly a couple of times a month. Job done. Surely even if there was the occasional 'hand in the till' the cost of a system to weigh the bus/CCTV cameras would be far more than any losses incurred.
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