This project aims to develop novel and inexpensive techniques for sensing passenger behaviour on public transport. Detailed passenger behaviour includes knowledge of where passengers get on the bus and where they get off the bus.  The existing electronic ticketing systems on the Horários do Funchal busses only record when/where passengers get on the bus.  There is currently no data about where individual passengers get off the bus, hence it is impossible to derive an O/D matrix from ticketing data alone.  In addition, other public services can benefit from people localization data, such as environmental control and analysis, socio–economic evaluation, mobility planning and control, urban planning and control, health planning and control.

 

Solution

To record where individual passengers get off the bus, we propose to use a novel system that utilises mobile phone positioning data provided by a mobile operator (e.g. TMN). Analysis of this data can be used to redesign transport lines such that they match the distribution of people’s movement across urban areas.  At the moment, we need to run tests to specify in detail the definition and scale of this localization system, which ultimately depends on the quality of data.

People mobility data are very useful for macro and meso mobility planning definition, and for other function linked to energy, accessibility, development and so on.  Our core project is linked to public transport a mobility analysis but in a more wide vision this project can be perfectly included in a extended project, including other fields of analysis, such as environmental, social inclusion, private mobility, energy, and can be part of the broader LIVING LAB PROJECT.

The Region of Madeira is a member of the community of LIVING LAB REAGIONS creating knowledge, developing local competencies and attracting global key players on mobile services for tourism, health, work and learning. This vision shall be supported by state of the art technological platforms with multi-standard capabilities and complemented by innovative and efficient mobile and fixed telecommunications.