A Cloud Model for Distributed Transport System Integration

Public transport systems already encounter vast amounts of data per day, ranging from the GPS information of vehicles to sensor checks on real-time locations. Newer technologies such as social media, sensor networks or passenger counting systems, to name just a few, present new opportunities as well as new challenges to accommodate even larger data volumes, essentially leading to a big data problem in the context of real-time distributed transport systems. We argue that contemporary models for such systems are inadequate or less than adequate in meeting these new challenges. In this paper we present a new cloud-based model for integrated, distributed public transport systems to enable greater flexibility, portability, and interoperability for different controllers and sensors. Our model is called MOVIE, an acronym for "Model Operations View Intelligence Events". The proposed MOVIE model describes an event controlled system which incorporates the cloud and various messaging protocols in order to provide a safe and secure way of communication between the users, sensors and the multimodal transportation network. We describe our new model in some detail and then present a simulation of a passenger counting system to deliver up to the minute information for passengers, to enable them to make more informed choices about their travel options. With the emergence of social media, public transport patrons may connect with transport systems in cities to receive and provide updates of the status of the traffic at that time.