Development of a Passenger OD Estimation System for Route Buses Using Person Tracking Techniques and Matching Algorithms

In Japan, declining birthrates have necessitated compact cities and reorganization of public transportation,particularly bus routes. Effective transportation planning requires Origin-Destination (OD) data, which is challengingto collect due to high costs. This study develops a system to estimate bus passenger OD from videos captured onroute buses, integrating object detection, tracking, metric learning, and assignment algorithms. Videos of passengersboarding and alighting were recorded, and human bounding boxes were annotated. Model selection and training wereconducted to assess accuracy and identify improvement strategies. The research contributes to cost-effective OD datacollection, offering scalable solutions for public transportation systems. It demonstrates how advanced tracking andmatching algorithms can be applied in urban mobility analytics, potentially optimizing public transport networks.This study enhances public transport efficiency, providing a framework for applying advanced technologies in realworldscenarios and extending methodologies for accurate, cost-effective data collection across various fields.