New passenger counting system for Granada city buses

After signing the contract for the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and electronic fare collection system (EFC) for the fleet of buses running the urban transport service in the city of Granada—now in the implementation phase—the Granada City Council has awarded GMV the contract for supplying passenger-counting sensors integrated into the onboard system already contracted for the fleet of 185 vehicles, under a project financed by Next Generation Funds.

These counting sensors will be installed at each of the vehicles’ doors and will provide accurate and prompt information on their occupancy to the driver and the operators at the Control Center. So they will have access to information to determine if it is best to send another bus when they see a vehicle with a high level of occupancy.

These highly-accurate sensors are based on 3D reconstruction of the image and count the number of passengers who cross a virtual line, distinguishing between passengers entering and exiting through the same door.

The counting sensors will be installed on the upper part of the doors, which will not block passengers from entering as they take up no additional space in the doorway. Additionally, this location will prevent the sensor from being blocked by passengers and minimize any possible vandalism.

In addition to supplying sensors and communication switches, implementing this project includes:

- Updating the firmware of the current onboard equipment to integrate the counting sensors to send information to the Head Office, while also showing occupancy data to drivers on their screens.

- Updating the Control Center’s CAD application to manage the new information provided by the counting sensors and visualize the occupancy from the operator and traffic inspector workstations.

- Updating certain operational reports to show occupancy information by line, route, and stop.

- Reassessing and installing the onboard equipment on the entire fleet.

This system is expected to enter into production before the end of 2023.