ITS applications for safety and security include surveillance and monitoring systems for public passenger transport vehicles, bus and tram stops, taxi ranks and facilities - and associated car parks such as for Park & Ride. Associated facilities may also include ITS applications - such as real-time information signs, off-bus ticket machines and customer help points. They may be fitted with automatic systems that shut them down to prevent further damage in the event of vandalism.
Other facilities also need protection and / or security control which can be provided by automatic or manual systems – such as those designed to protect public transport vehicle operatives, including:
CCTV is the primary form of ITS safety and security monitoring. CCTV camera technology is continually developing - delivering higher resolution with miniaturised components at lower cost. (See Safety & Security)
Recording and storage of personal information is often governed by national standards organisations. In the UK the Office of the Information Commissioner issues a Good Practice Guide for those operating CCTV and other devices which view or record images of individuals.
International standards organisations role is key here. The ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) is the world standards organisation and that for Europe is the European Committee for Standardization (CEN - Comité Européen de Normalisation).
Industry trade bodies promote the interests of the companies that are active in the security systems market. In the UK for instance the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) is an active player.
Co-ordination between the road network operator and the bus operator(s) in real-time is essential during incidents and emergencies. It is particularly important that there are good communications between control rooms. This not only leads to a greater likelihood that the incident will be resolved effectively but also makes it more likely that information emanating from different sources is consistent.
Shared use of CCTV between control rooms should be encouraged as it can help the controllers with the identification of incidents and their causes and the resolution of problems.
The Road Network Operator also has an interest to ensure that roadside public passenger transport security systems do not have a negative impact on the proper operation of the road network. (See Network Operations)
In-vehicle surveillance has a number of different advantages from evidence gathering to providing a sense of security and safety to passengers and making public passenger transport a much more attractive mode.
The output from in-vehicle security applications is mainly recorded for analysis after the event. However, driver-activated alarms are an important means of communication and may incorporate a direct communications link to control centres. Such communications may also be triggered automatically by in-vehicle systems when major physical shocks are experienced by the vehicle.
In-vehicle surveillance systems can also record images of occurrences external to the bus (such as collisions or damage) as well as within the vehicle itself. They can therefore be of great importance in insurance claims.
In-vehicle CCTV systems may also incorporate GPS position-recording and Wi-Fi and GSM connectivity. Generally CCTV images will not be transmitted because of the high bandwidth required - but stored for use at a later date.
Until recently image processing was non-existent in the bus sector - with CCTV image monitoring being completely reliant on operatives watching banks of screens. To date it is still largely confined to providing driver assistance rather than in-vehicle security aids.
Mobile CCTV can be incorporated into the vehicle design so that it is fitted into the bodywork at the time of construction. It is also increasingly common for rear-facing cameras and associated viewing screens for the driver to be installed as standard equipment on buses.
Those specifying equipment for in-vehicle surveillance should be aware of the rapid advances in technology relating to image processing and communications and must be alert to the need for equipment to be ‘future-proof’.
The European Bus System of the Future (EBSF - http://www.ebsf.eu) and its successor project 3iBS (http://www.3ibs.eu) have a major focus on on-board systems integration, in which safety and security applications play a key part.
As with many high-technology features customers in developing economies need to be particularly aware of the extent to which genuine spare parts are easily available at an affordable price. Also, poor coverage or unreliable telecommunications may mean that redundancy should be built into systems.
Security applications at bus stops and bus terminals may be used for real-time monitoring so security operatives can be summoned. Surveillance equipment might range from simple fixed wide-angle cameras to remote-controlled adjustable pan and zoom video cameras – and can use remote monitoring and infinite loop recorders.
Recorded images from CCTV systems may be used for the investigation of incidents, as evidence in Court - and for training and analysis purposes such as modelling the dynamics of the bus terminal, including how crowds build up. This can be valuable to inform the design of future terminals.
The key technologies are CCTV and systems for remote disabling of equipment to prevent further damage where equipment is vandalised. In contrast to in-vehicle surveillance, high bandwidth connections can be used to transmit images from the CCTV cameras to control centres and other locations. Whilst this provides many opportunities for surveillance, it also presents some content management issues. Other technologies include telecommunications - usually land lines and fibre-optic (due to bandwidth requirements) - viewing screens at control centres, image management software and image and data storage and archiving.
Interfaces need to be specified and tested - and well-structured and managed system need to be in place to control effectively the large number of cameras and the large volume of continuous data and image streams. Compliant procedures need to be established for the capture, storage and handling of images and information - to ensure that any data used as evidence is admissible in Court.
Practitioners need to be aware that the costs of maintaining CCTV systems can be high. Absolute reliance on surveillance technology is no substitute for the reassurance to travellers that comes from the presence of uniformed staff – who can also provide information to travellers and assist those with special needs.
CCTV technology is increasing in sophistication. Particularly important is the development of Video Content Analysis (VCA) - where video can be automatically analysed to detect temporal events which are not based on a single image. A system using VCA can recognize changes in the environment and identify and compare objects in the database using size, speed, and colour.
A limited availability of bandwidth may impose severe constraints on the extent to which sophisticated surveillance technology can be used. Climatic conditions and environmentally polluted conditions provide further challenges for the effective operation of equipment.
Remote disabling systems can prevent access by unauthorised drivers or vehicles to particular roads or areas (such as an airport or a busway) - and they can also prevent access by unauthorised persons to vehicles or movement of vehicles.
Preventing access by unauthorised drivers can help ensure that only bus drivers with specific security clearance are able to access restricted roads - which can be important in sensitive locations. The same remote disabling features can also prevent vehicles from accessing ‘off-limit’ roads. Physical response restrictions can be triggered by ITS applications – and include raising bollards and lowering barriers.
The ability to disable vehicles at the time of driver access is also valuable for applications such as car clubs - where only registered members are able to access or start the vehicle using remote control of vehicle capability.
The key technologies:
Reliability of systems is extremely important - and those that deploy and implement the systems need to look into this thoroughly before purchasing an application.
Geo-fencing is a relatively new technology and is an increasingly common feature of location-based management solutions. It is expected to play an important role in the development of new types of applications.