© dpa
Starting today, passengers on Berlin's S-Bahn can see which cars still have enough space at significantly more stations even before the train pulls in.
The so-called real-time crowding indicators are now available at 14 stations, the S-Bahn announced. The system had previously been tested at six S-Bahn stations. By the end of the year, the S-Bahn plans to install the crowding indicators at all 50 stations on the Ringbahn and Stadtbahn lines.
Another new feature as of today is that the display now shows not only the next train but also the occupancy rates of subsequent trains. "At stations with occupancy displays, train occupancy is about 30 percent more even," the S-Bahn reported. With the addition of displays showing subsequent trains, the S-Bahn expects this effect to increase, "since passengers have more time to spread out on the platform." This makes boarding more relaxed and faster, said S-Bahn CEO Heiko Büttner. "The seconds saved are also valuable to us and contribute to more stable operations," Büttner added.
The display uses a color-coded system: green indicates low occupancy, yellow indicates medium occupancy and red indicates high occupancy for the respective train. The data comes from sensors on the tracks that use LED photoelectric sensors to detect the occupancy of passing commuter trains. AI software then combines the live measurements with millions of historical data points and adjusts the forecast with each new reading. Currently, the display is available at the following stations: Alexanderplatz, Bellevue, Charlottenburg, Friedrichstraße, Hackescher Markt, Hauptbahnhof, Hermannstraße (no display of subsequent trains initially), Jannowitzbrücke, Messe Nord/ZOB, Messe Süd, Savignyplatz, Tiergarten, Westkreuz and Zoologischer Garten.