SenMooVe: A Platform for Sensor-based Air Quality Monitoring in Public Transport Vehicles

Ensuring security and comfort in public transportation is essential, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era. Passengers not only require reliable transit services but also expect sufficient space and healthy air quality for a safe travel experience. However, existing public transport systems lack real-time monitoring solutions for air quality and vehicle occupancy. This paper presents SenMooVe, a sensor platform designed for real-time air quality monitoring and passenger occupancy estimation in public vehicles. The platform consists of a Master unit for data acquisition and transmission, air quality sensors, and Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar sensors for passenger detection. Additionally, it integrates GPS signals for real-time vehicle tracking and interfaces with the Integrated Board Information System (IBIS) to access passenger information, stop locations, and schedule updates. It also monitors bus door status to enhance operational safety and efficiency. An initial experiment conducted in an suburban/rural environment collected 3,623 data samples over approximately 300 hours of operation. A preliminary correlation between air quality and passenger numbers has been established using data from an already integrated time-of-flight (ToF) based passenger counting system at bus doors. To facilitate further research and development, these datasets are made publicly available, providing valuable insights for transport operators, route planners, academic researchers, and public institutions. Future work will focus on developing a user-friendly visualization summary for real-time passenger information, enhancing situational awareness and ensuring a safer, more comfortable travel experience.