Sep 30, 2015

One of the most important ways to ensure the security of an area is to invest in wireless video surveillance systems. No matter whether the area being surveilled is a privately owned business or a public arena, having an extra set of technological eyes on what’s happening is crucial to making sure the people moving through that area are safe.

To that end, public transportation systems benefit from installing wireless video surveillance technology. In fact, the transportation sector makes up a majority of the market for these kinds of systems. According to a recent study by RnR Market Research, the transportation sector will have nearly35.5 percent share of the video surveillance market by 2019. The other 65 percent of the market is represented by the financial, retail, education, industrial and government sectors, among others – so transportation takes the crown when it comes to big players in this market.

There’s a good reason for that. Wireless surveillance – especially the kind optimized for mobile, which is what gets installed on buses and trains – allows public safety workers to have an accurate view of the places they need to secure. According to Security Today contributor Rodell Notbohm, as robbery, theft, shoplifting and terrorist attacks continue to increase in number, the way for businesses and government organizations to combat this rise is to install video surveillance cameras – especially in transit systems.

Use case: Western Australia
One area that has had success in implementing a wireless video solution within their transportation system is Western Australia. According to Public Transit Authority employee Steve Furmedge in an article for Security Info Watch, Perth and 240 towns across the state are connected by the public transit system. This authority has made significant investments in video surveillance technology in order to ensure citizen safety during transport from one end of Western Australia to the other.

“Ensuring safe, reliable and flexible transportation without fear or disruption is paramount,” Furmedge wrote. “After all, public confidence can be gained only through consistent service delivery combined with discernible safety and security provisions.”

The PTA’s real time surveillance system provides the right kind of notice when safety threats occur, which sometimes leads to the prevention of what could otherwise be a serious event. Train operators use the PA system to address offenders in real time – sometimes deterring them from continuing what could be harmful actions. In cases where the operator isn’t able to halt the safety threat, the video, which is stored for up to 31 days, can be used to more quickly apprehend and prosecute the offending parties.

Mesh makes it stronger
When transit authorities invest in wireless surveillance technology, they need to make sure they are utilizing the strongest networks possible. To transmit high-quality video throughout the network, a lot of bandwidth is necessary. Mesh networks make this high-quality transmission possible. These kinds of networks are self-healing, as well, meaning if one point goes down, the other nodes in the network can transmit to one another instead of creating a break in the chain. In this way, continuous wireless surveillance is guaranteed.

Contact Firetide today for more information about how mesh networks and video surveillance can augment safety on public transit.