6. Contactless Payment System
Hands-free fare payment has been pursued by the LTA for some time to make the Land Transport system more inclusive. LTA issued a Request for Information (RFI) for Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems in November 2015, and in June 2018, a six-month hands-free ticketing technology trial was conducted with selected participants and wide faregates at selected MRT stations.
Using three-dimensional RFID technology, the Contactless Payment System on the LTA Smart Bus detects when commuters enter and exit the bus, thus enabling fare collection without the use of a contactless reader-based system.
Staff at the ITS World Congress exhibited the technology through RFID chip-embedded wristbands, with a unique serial number allocated to each band. The ID number and time of boarding were logged and displayed on a screen inside the bus.
The display screen used (OSG ScreeneX) is embedded into the glass window and formerly used as a Passenger Information Display System during revenue service trials, showing upcoming bus stops.
7. Interactive Capacity Lighting System
An Interactive Capacity Lighting System is installed within the bus, comprising overhead-mounted LCD screens and coloured LED strips running the length of the bus interior.
The system relies on roof-mounted automatic passenger counters supplied by TNT Surveillance (model: T-APC) at all three doors, coupled with two more along the centre aisle of the bus, thus dividing the bus into three zones (A, B & C), with Zone A being the front of the bus and Zone C as the rear section of the bus.
Should there be too many people within a certain zone of the bus, the LCD screens will reflect that in orange or red, encouraging passengers to move towards less crowded areas of the bus. The LED strips will also change colour from green to red, to reflect crowded areas of the bus.
8. Auto Tinting Windscreen
Reacting to ambient light, photochromatic film on the windscreen can automatically darken in bright sunlight.
The LTA Smart Bus exhibit simulates the operation of the photochromatic film with three levels of opacity.
9. In-Bus Mobile Apps
The interactive tablet, integrated within the lean-on panel as described above, runs a web-based application that shows the bus route, en-route stops and nearby places of interest. A prototype was shown during the ITS World Congress 2019.
The web app can be accessed at the URL: https://smartbus.y5zone.sg
10. Interactive Touch Screen Window
A touchscreen window glass prototype was programmed with an interactive passenger information system, which was identical to the web application featured on the tablet within the lean-on panel. The large window screen allowed for easier reading while allowing passengers to interact with it.
The use of a transparent LCD screen exposes a primary drawback: LCD displays require an external light source. This is not a problem in daytime, but during the night, an external light source is required.
Additional Features
While not explicitly highlighted in the LTA Smart Bus, the wheelchair bay was converted to a forward-facing one, with several mounting points embedded onto the floor cover.
Modifications
Apart from the installation of the key concepts for the LTA Smart Bus, several modifications were made from the MAN Lion’s City SD – 3-door Concept Bus.
- Removal of 4 seats on the right side of the bus, before the first exit door
- Removal of all handgrips
- Removal of Mobitec MobiSCREEN Passenger Information Display System (PIDS)
- Removal of Surround View System
- Removal of Seeing Machines Guardian Driver Anti Fatigue System
- Interior Panels changed to reflect “ST Engineering” instead of “MAN” & “ST Kinetics”
Other 26th ITS World Congress 2019 Bus Exhibits
The LTA Smart Bus was one of the various buses showcased during the 26th ITS World Congress 2019, with the other buses being:
- ST Engineering STROBO Series 12 Bus
- ST Engineering STROBO Series 7 Bus
- NTU – LTA – Volvo Autonomous Bus
- Navya Autonom
- EasyMile EZ10 & (NUSmart Shuttle)
- MooVita MooShuttle miniP
- MooVita MooShuttle miniB
Other Events
Smart Nation & U
Held on 30 November & 1 December 2019 at Downtown East, the LTA Smart Bus was exhibited alongside one unit of the ST Engineering Autobus.
Static Display at LTA HSO
In 2021, the LTA Smart Bus put up for static display at the Land Transport Authority Hampshire Office.
References
Page 1 – Background & Key Concepts 1 – 5
This Page – Key Concepts 6 – 10; Additional Features & Modifications; Other Events; Static Display at LTA HSO
Not “smart” to let it just get wasted like this while it has another 14 to 15 years of useful lifespan ahead. They could have chosen this bus too for their diesel-to-electric conversion project and let it operate till end of life.
This SG4002G?
Since it’s called ‘smart bus’, can it talk, answer questions, jump, express emotions/feelings and do human activities?
Question for ‘smart bus’; 1+1=? answer ‘?’
Since when is smart equals to more expensive? Smart should be cost effective, and energy efficient. This is not a smart bus, but a bus that requires more resources than a normal bus.
Bus lane violation system is what matter