CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY, GENETEC, INTEL AND MICROSOFT PARTNER TO IMPROVE TRANSIT SAFETY

Building on the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA’s) existing measures to keep bus and train service timely, efficient and safe, City Tech Collaborative (City Tech), Genetec, Intel and Microsoft are developing new tools to provide real-time insights on CTA occupancy across multiple vehicles.

The collaboration will measure the efficacy of various passenger-counting technologies. Existing data sources including automated passenger counting and ticketing/tap data will be joined into a single dashboard alongside data from emerging technology being tested such as lidar, video, and a count of devices seeking Wi-Fi networks connections. No individually identifiable information will be stored or shared, and data collected during the pilot will remain private. In addition, other factors including weather, time of day, and events will inform the developed model to project ridership. Long-term, this comprehensive solution will allow CTA to understand the accuracy of these technologies, make improved operational decisions around bus and train deployment, and guide data publishing for public use such as sharing projected crowding figures per bus at each stop on a route.