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Comment by superqwert | Hacker News Reader

This is currently the only method available to get good estimates of # of people on a platform - unless you would prefer visual recognition software.

TfL needs this information to be able to stop overcrowding on platforms.

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> unless you would prefer visual recognition software

Given they already have multiple cameras covering platforms from multiple angles, this seems like it would have been on the list.

When TfL have previously suggested visual recognition software, the media exploded. So they took a step back.

I suppose calling it "visual recognition software" invokes a kind of "facial recognition and tracking" vibe. I'm thinking more of the "is this platform crowded" visual recognition stuff - "How much of the reference image of an empty platform do we have today?" kind of thing.

Without recognising single persons, it would be much harder. You would have to consider that a person twice as close to the camera takes up 2x as much room as someone 2x further away. Generally, it can also be very hard to see people on a crowded platform and you can almost double the amount of people on the platform and see as little of the platform after as you did before. Wifi will probably generate better customers in that case. Add in the fact that you are still processing visual data and that you will get a lot of media attention and Londoners will lose trust in your services and you have a definite no-go for your project.

> you can almost double the amount of people on the platform and see as little of the platform after as you did before

I would suggest that "overcrowding" was achieved well before that point though.

> Wifi will probably generate better customers in that case.

Assumes that one person equals one Wifi though which isn't necessarily the case.

> you are still processing visual data and that you will get a lot of media attention

Perhaps. It would definitely require a deft hand on the PR tiller.

1. Not necessarily - 4 short people behind 4 tall people will do the job. But I would argue London platforms ARE overcrowded already, rather often. Mostly because you can only control where people go a certain amount. If everyone gets off many trains at the same stop, but don't leave, there isn't much TfL can do short of asking people to leave for their own safety. Maybe if TfL actually got any decent amount of funding (Like Southern and SouthEastern got due to being rubbish) from the government, they could work on creating further lines and spaces that would decrease Underground congestion. Instead, the government has cut funds and the Mayor has frozen fares. And yet people still want infrastructure to improve.

2. 1 Person != 1 Wifi, but if 1W = 0.2P, you can still get a good estimate.

3. TfL is a large bargaining chip for the mayor - no mayor would even consider risking a PR disaster like the one that could come from this.

how?

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