How Can the Internet of Things (IoT) Applicable to Public Transport?
In this prevalent age of the Internet, access to public transportation is made more accessible and increasingly affordable, and IoT enhances it several steps further.
It used to be that taking public transportation is a hassle in some ways. Indeed, before the existence of smartphones and the Internet, people intending to take any forms of public transit would ask any person they encountered or visit the information center (if any) to ask it.
Not everyone has the means to own a car so that public transport may be their only option. At the same time, getting information about riding a particular train or bus, as well as the timetables, is no easy feat. That’s one. What about if you want to hail a taxi? If there are a couple of taxis available right in front of you once you arrived at any particular destination, I would consider it lucky.
Big thanks to the Internet, accessibility of public transportation is getting more extensive. Everyone with a mobile data plan and a smartphone can access crucial information on bus and train timetables, as well as reducing the anxiety of getting to know which bus or train to hop on or even where to hail a taxi.
The existence of the Internet of Things (IoT) takes the public transportation sector to the next level and beyond what passengers can benefit from it, here is how the IoT can help people who rely on public transportation to go around as well as businesses who
Real-time tracking and movement
Rather than using an in-built GPS device, which can be costly, it uses the GPS functionality or sensors on any user’s device, which then is displayed on, for instance, the smartphone. That is how ride-hailing apps like Uber and Grab works.
The driver’s app is turned on with the real-time location enabled. Then, passengers who booked the ride can view the movement of the car he or she will hop on in real-time directly in the app.
Another example of real-time tracking is when you are waiting for, let’s say, a bus, or a train. It used to be that passengers have to wait relentlessly at the bus stop to hop on a particular bus. If the bus the passenger intends to take is frequent, that would be fortunate. But for many, they have to wait for hours, hoping that their bus will come. But instead, it ends up with frustration.
With the IoT, transportation companies can incorporate sensors and GPS devices to locate their fleet vehicles in real-time. With that, such information will be broadcasted in the app or site in which users can view them live.
Moovit is an example that has real-time timings displayed through the app.
Like the real-time vehicle tracking in ride-hailing apps, the same can apply to bus and train fleets and let passengers see the real-time bus or train movements through the app.
Kakao Bus app is one of the great examples of letting passengers see where the particular bus they want to take is at, and the number of minutes taken for the bus to arrive at the specific bus stop.
Land Transport Authority Singapore’s website also provides details of the load of each bus, whether there are seats and standing space available. It is a terrific way of how IoT is being unleashed to ensure that passengers can commute from the starting point to the final destination comfortably and smoothly.
Vehicle remote monitoring and controlling
IoT can be extensively utilized to monitor the condition of the vehicle in real-time. By using appropriate IoT sensors, businesses can see if there’s any part of their vehicle fleets that needs attention or if it needs to be repaired.
Also, by integrating with artificial intelligence or AI, they can even get more detailed information on the driving patterns, event or accident detection. This, in turn, will decrease the costs of having to check up and improve the vehicle fleet’s reliability continually.
One example is AutoPi, which is an IoT platform that can set up and program a car into an intelligent one. This would be super useful, especially for those who often use their vehicle for the purpose of ride-hailing.
Similar solutions are available for other kinds of fleets such as buses. Hologram offers fleet management solutions through its products, which are IoT SIM card, cellular network, and device management dashboard.
Autonomous vehicle fleet
The Internet wireless connectivity of multiple devices, along with the existence of artificial intelligence, makes a perfect combination to initiate the autonomous vehicle experiment.
Several companies such as Waymo and Uber have tested out their self-driving cars, while Baidu has already preparing to launch the autonomous buses for commercial use.
Not everyone likes to drive (me included). And public transportation can be unreliable in some areas. Therefore, autonomous vehicle development can be pretty much a boon for many people as they can go around anywhere without the hassle of having to focus their eyes on driving on the road
Although the autonomous vehicle is still in the development stage, we can expect that it will be available several years later from now.
The Internet of Things provides a lot of benefits for businesses, particularly those who are involved in public transportation and ride-hailing. No doubt, there are still a lot of issues regarding the IoT development that has yet to be solved.
Still, companies who are involved in IoT are working to solve them and making sure that it is entirely usable and benefits everyone, as well as the public transportation sector.
