This talk by Rory Maxwell from Ethos explores how urban data can provide more confidence to disabled public transport users and help the live more independent lives to avoid social isolation.

1. Ethos VO
www.ethosvo.org
17th December, 2020
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2. The problem - the need to do more with less.
● Local Authority budgets have been under considerable pressure for many years while at the same
time the population they support is getting older and more likely to live alone.
● There are a range of transport services available that are Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) provided,
along with voluntary and commercial offerings, all of which offer valuable assistance to the
vulnerable, but are resource constrained.
● Public transport alternatives are often less convenient for those with mobility challenges (they can
be busy and not always available when needed) leading to isolation and impacts on well-being.
● Ultimately, this reduction in independence can increase the likelihood of the vulnerable person
progressing into long term care, with associated costs for local authorities. (Approx £750 per
week in BFC)
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3. Phase 1 findings
● Considering the vulnerable and those at risk of isolation, the priority should be on helping those
citizens to make better use of the public transport system, within Bracknell that being the public
bus network.
● It is clear that when considering how vulnerable people might become more independent,
confidence is a key consideration.
● If they have some degree of certainty that public transport will be available and not overcrowded,
they are more likely to use it.
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4. Phase 2 approach
● Non-intrusive sensors installed in buses on selected routes.
● Detecting real-time occupancy and space availability.
● No individuals are identifiable.
● Routes were selected in consultation with bus company and BFC Adult Social Services to ensure
we target the best routes for the trial.
● In-home displays for the elderly / vulnerable to have real time access to bus availability
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5. Solution 1 Real time bus occupancy tracker
● Sensors provided real time updates on bus
occupancy, using top-down cameras.
● No facial recognition or other personal data is
recorded
● Occupancy availability data displayed on simple
screens at users’ homes and in selected locations
e.g. hospital reception, doctors’ practice reception
and the Lexicon.
● This information will give the user confidence that
the selected bus - both route and time - will meet
their needs.
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Sensor in position
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6. Solution 1 Real time bus occupancy tracker
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Typical route occupancy over a morning period
Passenger detection logger
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7. 7
Alternatively can aggregate to show trends of when bus routes are busier
Realtime occupancy on a given route
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8. 8
Actual route tracker
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● Actual route occupancy data can be
aggregated to enable transport service
providers to report and plan routes

9. Solution 2 In home display
● Simple user interface
● Can be placed in users homes, or
selected locations e.g. hospitals, GP
surgeries, supermarkets, other town
centre locations.
● Can be incorporated into a simple
dashboard (without too much
information)
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10. Solution 2 In home display
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Display is easily configurable to individual
user preferences

11. Who benefits?
The elderly and vulnerable citizen
Bus company and potentially other public
transport providers
Local authority - spending a lot of money
subsidising these routes.
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With real time information including occupancy
levels, they now have the confidence to make
better use of public transport
With real time information, can plan routes and
revisions better to meet demand
Are they subsidising the right ones?
Long term savings in helping citizens to remain
independent i.e. less demand on care budgets
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12. Conclusions
● InDependAbility has developed 2 tech solutions - a real time bus occupancy tracker, and a
configurable in-home display
● Feasibility study has proven the technology works
● Covid has not helped!
○ More testing on buses would improve accuracy
○ The chance to deploy displays in homes / public locations would give valuable feedback
● Displays are open source - can easily configure multiple data sets from alternative counting
systems to give wider coverage
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13. Next steps
● Roll out and test in users’ homes
● Feedback from displays. Does this give users confidence? Does this give quantifiable increase in
bus usage for a given cohort(s)
● Easy to extend project to other local authorities under the same pressures
● Can we incorporate other counting technologies (e.g. from mobile phones) to give even better
assessment of occupancy? Covid 19 has changed what bus companies will now contemplate.
● With a wider rollout, can start to forecast occupancy based on historical data
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Contact details:
Rory Maxwell
Partner
Ethos Ventures LLP
Web: ethosvo.org | rory.maxwell@ethosvo.org | M: +44 [0]7518 933993
Solving complex problems through collaboration, trust and moderation
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