Mass Transit - 36

Video Aids Agency

MONITORING
EFFORTS
As technology continues to develop, transit agencies
are utilizing technology for security of riders, as well as
providing options to monitor activity outside of buses.
By Maile Rudebusch, contributor

T

HE SECURITY OF BUSES IS A
top issue for agencies; safer
transport means increased
ridership. One method to enhance safety is through the use
of security cameras.
"We, physically on a transit
bus, will install a few or up to
six or seven cameras. The driver can activate a manual button
if they're having an issue with a
passenger or if there is an incident
on the bus. In some cases, we will
install multiple buttons throughout the bus. For example, we have
a button on the wheelchair ramp
[that a person] can push to activate the cameras," said Jason
Palmer, chief operating officer,
SmartDrive.
Palmer said that the footage
is then stored on SmartDrive's
cloud-data store.
"[Our system] will record footage and start offloading that to our
cloud-data store and also send out
an alert to dispatch or a manager - however it is set up - to let
them know that there has been an
incident on the bus." said Palmer.
SmartDrive's equipment can
come with a cellular subscription.
Palmer added that around 90 per-

36 |

cent of agencies that utilize SmartDrive use the cellular subscription
as opposed to WiFi.
"All of our equipment is sold
along with the service, so if for
example, there was a passenger
incident it will go to one of our
analysts, who will mark that there
was a passenger incident on the
bus if you need to find, locate and
keep records of [an incident],"
said Palmer.
One thing that always comes
into question when surveillance
is how effective it is.
"It's not just the resolution,
but also the definition of the image and the color processing of
the image. We've implemented
cameras that have high dynamic
range functionality, which allows
the cameras to be enhanced quite
a bit, giving a much sharper and

SMARTDRIVE HAS
implemented
cameras that
have high
dynamic range
functionality,
which give a
much sharper
and brighter
image.

"We're seeing a lot more systems on

paratransit and smaller vehicles that, in the
past, may not have had a video system."

-JASON PALMER, chief operating officer,
SmartDrive

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JUNE 2019

brighter image," explained Palmer. "We also have engineered and
developed very strong night vision
capabilities, so that you are able to
see around the bus even at nighttime. It will enhance the image so
that you can exactly what is happening in and around the bus."
Palmer notes that the system
is able to start recording as soon
as there is an incident, but the
speed of the video's offloading is
determined by the resolution at
which it is being transferred, as
well as if it is being sent via WiFi
or cellular network.
"For our system, if [a person]
activates the manual button, it will
immediately start recording and
offloading, but it is not a live view
into the bus. It is delayed as it is
being offloaded and stored in the
cloud. One of the trade-offs of is
that if you are doing a live view of
the bus, it may not be as high of
resolution as it is trying to adjust
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