Barcelona launches automated bus lane and bus stop enforcement pilot with Hayden AI

Barcelona tests an artificial intelligence system for automatic control of reserved lanes and stops to improve bus circulation

Republished with permission from Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona

This is a pilot test resulting from the challenge launched and financed by the Barcelona City Council, in collaboration with TMB and Fira de Barcelona, within the framework of the Barcelona Innova Lab Mobility

The Hayden AI camera and data collection system is operating as a pilot test in four vehicles of the H12 and D20 lines

The pilot test of artificial intelligence to automatically control bus lanes and stops to improve the circulation of the bus network is now underway. The winning proposal of the challenge launched and financed by the Barcelona City Council, together with Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Fira de Barcelona. TMB has partnered with Hayden AI to test an automated pilot for the control of reserved lanes and stops on two bus lines. This is a system with artificial intelligence that seeks to improve the circulation and speed of the bus service. Hayden AI is the winning company of the Barcelona Innova Lab Mobility challenge launched by the Barcelona City Council, through the collaboration between the Mobility Area and the BIT Habitat Foundation, TMB and Fira de Barcelona.

The Hayden AI pilot uses a system of cameras installed inside (front part) of four buses that operate on the H12 (Besòs / Verneda - Gornal) and D20 (Pg. Marítim - Ernest Lluch) lines to detect vehicles that commit static violations (stopping or parking) in the bus lanes and stops obstructing the normal circulation of buses, which affects the safety, regularity and reliability of this public transport. The Hayden AI system provides statistical information on what it captures while the bus is operating on its route: it takes photographs and records video sequences automatically, collecting all the data and contextual information of the violation. The cameras do not record license plates or people, nor are penalties issued to drivers or owners of the vehicles. The pilot test of the technological system will last six months.

TMB is testing the technological system to assess a possible implementation in the fleet and a future sanctioning action. An initiative in the same line as the specific TMB vehicle and the City Council, which since last May has been sanctioning violations committed in the bus lane.

“Bus lanes are designed to help deliver reliable, fast, and convenient public transport service. But private vehicles illegally using bus lanes make this impossible,” said Laia Bonet, First Deputy Mayor, Area for Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing at the Ajuntament de Barcelona and also TMB’s President. “We are excited to partner with Hayden AI to learn where these problems occur and how they are impacting our public transport service”, declares Bonet.

Vehicles illegally parked or driving in bus lanes and bus stops significantly impact safe and reliable public transport service in Barcelona. When cars, motorcycles, trucks, or other unauthorized vehicles drive or park in bus lanes, they slow down bus service and disrupt bus schedules, creating challenges for riders relying on public transport to reach their destinations. Additionally, vehicles parked in bus stops make boarding and exiting dangerous and often impossible for people with reduced mobility, as blocked bus stops prevent the safe deployment of wheelchair access ramps from the bus to the curb.

This pilot is one of two winning projects of the Barcelona Innova Lab Mobility challenge awarded by the Barcelona City Council Mobility Area and its partners, the Barcelona Institute of Technology for the Habitat, TMB, and Fira de Barcelona. The project is funded by the Barcelona Innova Lab.

AI to improve bus commercial speed

The proposal, by the American Hayden AI, uses artificial intelligence to detect from the bus itself occupations of both the bus lane and the stops themselves, with the aim of improving its commercial speed.

The initiative uses computer vision, cameras and sensors with 5G connectivity to protect bus lanes and stops. The system, which is installed inside the buses, can identify parked vehicles that obstruct traffic and uses technology and artificial intelligence to help understand how, where and when, these occupations of stops and lanes affect the operation of public transport. In this way, fluidity in the bus lane can be improved and its commercial speed optimized.

The uniqueness of the system is that it is installed inside the bus, protecting it from weather conditions and external impacts, it is an automatic system and maintains complete accuracy in the situation capture systems. In addition to the detection of bus lane occupancy itself, technology and artificial intelligence are used to help understand how obstructions at bus stops and reserved lanes affect public transport speeds.

Hayden AI's perception platform loads only the necessary data to detect acts of indiscipline in bus lanes, allowing to identify points on the network where the greatest decrease in bus speed occurs. The solution complies with the European General Data Protection Regulation.

Successful system on buses in the United States

Hayden AI is the United States market leader in automated bus lane, bus stop, and double-parking enforcement, providing this bus-mounted camera technology to public transport authorities in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC and Oakland, California in addition to other U.S. cities. Barcelona’s pilot is the largest deployment of bus-mounted automated enforcement systems in Europe to date.

In New York, where automated bus lane enforcement with bus-mounted cameras has been in use since 2019, bus speeds have increased by 5% and collisions have decreased by 20% on average along public transport routes utilizing this technology.

“Hayden AI has had the privilege of helping cities in the United States improve safety and public transport reliability – as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help increase transit ridership. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring our technology to Barcelona and help the region learn more about how parking and moving violations in bus lanes and bus stops are impacting safety and transport service,” said Charles Territo, Chief Growth Officer at Hayden AI.

Barcelona Innova Lab Mobility

This new pilot is part of the Barcelona Innova Lab Mobility initiative, promoted by the Barcelona City Council through the Mobility Area, BIT Habitat, Fira de Barcelona and TMB, with the aim of promoting and facilitating the execution of pilot tests and new projects in the field of intelligent and sustainable urban mobility to diversify the city's economy and consolidate Barcelona as the capital of mobility innovation in southern Europe.

This is the second mobility challenge launched within this program, after 2023 started with two pilot tests focused on improving motorcycle traffic safety, which are now in full development. The organizers are working on new projects to be unveiled this very same year.