A contactless automated passenger counting (APC) system will be added in new vehicles to be launched soon by the RTA of Dubai to check fare dodging. The system operates through the comparison of the number of the passengers who use services and the automated fare collection.
Today most buses in Dubai enable the passengers to get inside the bus and go for Nol cards to validate each time they enter and alight from the bus but sometimes, passengers fail to do so. Commuters in Dubai caught eluding bus fares will get a penalty of Dh200.
This system will be fitted into the 636 new buses that are expected to be procured this year and the next year; which include 40 electric buses, 146 forty-meter and double-decked buses for the most congested areas, and 450 city service buses.
The majority of the buses will also be fitted with Raqeeb, a driver behavior monitoring system which will aid in the management of driver conduct and consequently complement passengers’ safety. There will also be an identity of driver that will create an authentication that will start with the operating system.
How APC works
The APC system will be responsible for counting passengers as they enter and exist bus. The counting sensors will immediately and accurately identify the passengers passing through the doorway since it is a count sensor.
It can give data nearly simultaneously with the number of people in the bus at a given time to the total number of people who tapped their Nol card to get into the bus and pay. In addition to fare collection check, the counting solution can be used to know the traffic or, in other words, demand of passengers or, in another words, to know how many buses must be in which line and when.
Fare nonpayers caught
The RTA conducted a six-day surprise raid in April last year, and at the end, 1,193 commuters were caught in cases of fare evasion.
Saeed Al Balushi, director of passenger transport activities supervising at RTA’s Public Transport Agency, earlier said the RTA has launched year-round checkup campaigns in several spots across Dubai to identify breaches.
“This measure will ensure the optimal use of RTA’s means of transportation, particularly buses. It will also support RTA’s efforts to provide services that cater to the needs of UAE residents, especially Dubai, and visitors from all over the world,” he added.
RTA has a convoy of 1,518 buses, managing a bus network of 119 internal lines, including 35 lines connecting to metro stations, 12 intercity lines to transport passengers to other emirates, 62 internal lines, and 8 fast lines. The bus network covers 82 percent of the urban areas in Dubai and transports about 369,248 passengers per day.
