The Munich subway, tram and bus network in Germany is operated by the Muencher Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH (MVG). Planners at MVG use the transport planning software VISUM. Ridership counts are collected continuously. These are done either manually or by automated passenger counting (APC) in buses and trams. Approximately 20% of trams and buses are equipped with APC devices. An integrated ridership count management system (RCMS) has been developed, based on the VISUM software. The system architecture of the RCMS is described. Changes to timetables are imported into the VISUM9 data model of the RCMS from Interplan. For the RCMP application, the VISUM9 data model was expanded to include the structure of ridership data. Count data is compared to the currently valid timetable data to ensure consistency. It is then balanced concerning the number of passengers boarding and alighting during a journey. The data is then aggregated on two time levels, the survey period and timetable periods. To get the maximum coverage of all the journeys with the given equipment of counting devices, a survey planner was implemented as a software module of the RCMS. Details are given of the reports that can be obtained from the RCMS.
Abstract