ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS, ACCURACY, AND COSTS OF AUTOMATIC PASSENGER COUNTERS

The research results of an assessment of the operational effectiveness, accuracy, and costs of various bus transit automatic passenger counter (APC) technologies are presented. The primary objective of automated passenger counters is to efficiently acquire accurate data on passenger activity and transit travel times. These data, which are essential for ongoing planning and scheduling activities, may include boardings, alightings, passenger loads, and vehicle running times. Automated techniques enable the reporting and analysis of these data in varying levels of detail. The current applications of APC technology in 12 North American transit properties are assessed on the basis of four technological factors: accuracy, equipment reliability, data turn-around time, and cost. Finding indicate that APC technology and its creative use may not be the magical solution to the bus transit monitoring dilemma; however, APC technology does offer a reasonable cost-effective option that operators can seriously consider to satisfy their data-collection needs.