Can I find a seat? - Occupancy forecast for bus and train

The research project, coordinated by the University of Kassel, has been launched under the title "U-hoch-3" (unbeschwert urban unterwegs) together with numerous partners, including public transport practitioners from NVV and KVG, and is already delivering usable interim results: The occupancy forecast in North Hessian public transport now provides information at a glance about how high the passenger volume is for the desired trip on the train, streetcar or bus. The forecast occupancy is displayed as an indication in the connection information with a pictogram.

If the expected passenger volume on the desired connection is high, alternative routes with an expected lower passenger volume are suggested to the customer in the information. Designed as a learning system, it will be gradually expanded until customers can see in the journey planner the utilization of the total seat capacities in the vehicles of NVV, KVG and all local public transport authorities in the five districts of the network.

In the project, the project partners are investigating various options for improving public transport and researching the respective effects. Due to the pandemic situation, the team decided to make the new occupancy forecast service available immediately in a first version in the field test.

"Not only in times of Corona, occupancy forecasting is a useful technology to provide more safety during the pandemic, but also more comfort for the passengers. Having a good feeling on buses and trains is an essential prerequisite for continuing to use public transportation in northern Hesse. This new application provides an essential prerequisite for this," says NVV Managing Director Steffen Müller about the latest digital development in NVV information.

"In a second project step, we will record real-time information on occupancy and make it available online. In this context, KVG will initially equip seven streetcars with sidecars on Line 6 with new, innovative sensor technology. In addition to real-time information on passenger occupancy, these will also enable object recognition, so that the occupancy of the multi-purpose areas for passengers with mobility aids, baby carriages or bicycles, for example, can also be identified," says Dr. Michael Maxelon, CEO of KVG, about the ongoing development and application of an information technology assistance system to reduce usage barriers in public transport at KVG.

"As part of the U-hoch-3 research project, the occupancy status of the vehicles and the multi-purpose areas for bicycles, baby carriages and wheelchairs will also be shown on the electronic displays at the stops in the future. We are currently investigating corresponding design concepts in our mobility laboratory before they are tested in the field," adds Prof. Dr. Ludger Schmidt, project coordinator and head of the Department of Human-Machine Systems Engineering at the University of Kassel.

The basis for the occupancy forecasts is provided by counting data from automatic passenger counting systems (AFZS), which are installed in the RT vehicles, streetcars and buses of NVV and KVG. These are linked with anonymized query data from the NVV information system. Over time, this results in increasingly accurate estimates of the passenger volume in the entire NVV area. As a result, this information can be provided for all lines in the network, although there may be differences in accuracy due to the varying quality of the counting data.

Data protection was also checked. The application was rated as unobjectionable, as there is no possibility of drawing conclusions about individual persons or groups of persons. At launch, the load forecast in the connection information for all smartphones and tablets can be easily accessed via the browser and the NVV app via: www.nvv.de and www.kvg.de.

For more information on the "unbeschwert urban unterwegs" research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, visit: www.u-hoch-3.de

Contact:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lud­ger Schmidt
University of Kassel
Department 15 - Mechanical Engineering
Department of Human-Machine Systems Engineering
Tel.: +49 561 804-2704
E-mail: L.Schmidt[at]uni-kassel[dot]de

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communication, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-Mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot] de
www.uni-kassel.de