A simple, but effective, enhancement to allow drivers to record passengers alighting the vehicle that together with the ticket transactions keep a total count of passengers on board, measured against capacity thresholds which are defined per vehicle. Drivers have full visibility of on-board passenger levels, removing pressure and giving them the confidence to manage the capacity of their bus.
The occupancy data is also available in the back office, both available to show control room staff the current occupancy level of all vehicles across the operational screens available in the Ticketer Portal, and historically, showing the passenger count on any day / any service and every stop.
Not only can the occupancy data be viewed and reported in the back office, but it can be made available to operator apps, central RTI systems and even displayed on destination blinds (with compatible hardware), therefore making sure everyone has access to this key information.
“Within hours of launching the new Ticketer Passenger Counting feature received lots of great feedback from our drivers that it’s working really well, giving them confidence that they can manage their bus and service safely, and easily. Go-Ahead are very grateful for all the hard work and long hours that our colleagues at Ticketer have put in, to get this across the line – it’s a ‘Big Thumbs Up’ from all our drivers.”
Graham Pether, Project Manager Go-Ahead Group PLC
The passenger numbers are available in the back office in real-time so operators can see how their buses are loaded at any time. Buses can be colour-coded and filtered according to their loadings so that operators can focus on those buses that are near the peak of their capacity.
Operators can be informed, and can advise disabled passengers in advance via apps, whether they can be accommodated onboard, thereby avoiding travelling to the bus stop only to wait in crowded areas unnecessarily.
This feature takes away the stress away from drivers and passengers to judge whether there’s available capacity on board.
Operators can easily set capacity on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis via the Ticketer Portal. These can be quickly and easily updated and rolled out to the ticket machines as soon as any policies, or rules change.
The capacity data can be made available to operator apps and central RTI systems so that passengers also have access to this information.
Capacity information can be used to update bus destination blinds automatically advising passengers if the bus is operating at full capacity, or whether there is space on board. This allows passengers to make a more informed choice about journeys, at the bus stop.
Allows an operator to review historical peak and low passenger numbers, aiding the planning process and more efficient management of their fleet. Quantification of real passenger flows illustrate more easily heavily impacted services during busy / seasonal periods, so an operator can take action if needed, e.g. put more vehicles on a specific route for passenger comfort and satisfaction.
