Security

CCTV is the primary form of ITS assistance to the Security functions of bus Operators. Cameras continue to provide higher resolution, while becoming miniaturised and available at lower cost. This encourages a higher level of deployment both in vehicles and in public transport facilities such as terminals.

In-vehicle security applications are mostly recorded for post-event analysis. Security applications at bus-stops and terminals may be real-time, especially if a fibre optic cable has been installed (e.g. for BRT systems). However, images are ‘resource-hungry’. Bandwidth for transmission remains a challenge for real-time monitoring applications, especially images from buses.

Significant advances have been made in computer-assisted image analysis (e.g. in sports). In the public transport domain, some usage has occurred in Metro systems (e.g. monitoring fall on track, crowding at barriers). However, despite the availability of suitable technologies, image processing remains non-existent in the bus sector, and CCTV image monitoring remains completely reliant on operators watching banks of screens.

The Security cluster consists of four Applications:

• In-vehicle surveillance
• At-station surveillance
• Running-way surveillance
• Infrastructure/facility surveillance