The North Carolina Department of Transportation/ Public Transportation Division (NCDOT/PTD) is responsible for reporting community transportation service statistics to the Federal government. These statistics include total annual ridership. The accuracy of the service statistics is essential because funding allocations are made using these data. In addition, the Division is considering using performance measures for allocating state and federal funds to transit systems. When such a formula is developed, it will be essential that trip counts be accurate to avoid over-funding inaccurate data. However, NCDOT/PTD does not currently have an easy and effective method for verifying service data, especially trip counts. As a result, recent audit findings have questioned the validity of these trip counts. It is thus essential that NCDOT/PTD develop a system for verifying trip counts. This proposal explores the possibility of using existing security camera technology to count passenger trips. The cameras are in place on close to the entire fleet of community transportation vehicles. The proposal is to collect samples of security camera footage from multiple transit systems and for each vehicle type, develop an algorithm that counts passenger activity, then test the algorithm at other sites. If successful, NCDOT/PTD will be able to use existing technology to address a pressing issue, saving the state time, money, and effort while ensuring compliance with federal regulations.
