Application of RFID Technology in Public Transport Company

Abstract

Our aim is to deal with the application of RFID technology in real conditions. Increasing interest in Radio Frequency Identification and related numerous applications for increasing automation in information systems has become an area of interest public transportation applications. The reason for the application of RFID technology is tracking entrance/exit of vehicles to or from the parking area. The main expected benefits arising out of the introduction of this system is considered to maximize efficiency in payments to external carriers parking operator for services related to the use of the bus park for a period of time.

Full text

Application of RFID technology in public transport company
BALOG Michal1, a, SZILÁGYI Erik1,b and MARTON Dávid1,c
1Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies with seat in Presov, Technical University of Kosice,
Bayerová 1, Presov
amichal.balog@tuke.sk, berik.szilagyi@tuke.sk, cmarton.david@tuke.sk
Keywords: information system, RFID technology, bus transport, parking
Abstract. Our aim is to deal with the application of RFID technology in real conditions. Increasing
interest in Radio Frequency Identification and related numerous applications for increasing
automation in information systems has become an area of interest public transportation applications.
The reason for the application of RFID technology is tracking entrance/exit of vehicles to or from
the parking area. The main expected benefits arising out of the introduction of this system is
considered to maximize efficiency in payments to external carriers parking operator for services
related to the use of the bus park for a period of time.
Introduction
Nowadays, information systems are indispensable tool for controlling processes in almost every
manufacturing and non-manufacturing business. The main reason is that the organization with a
established information system has automated core business processes. They also allow to share
business data, ensuring their availability at any time and provide a competitive advantage. In case of
deficiencies in the information system we can perform an analysis of the information system to find
possibilities for improvement or replacement of the original information of others.
The use of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems is now becoming one of the most
important factors that determine business success. Last ten years are marked by the implementation
of complex information systems of ERP category. We can say that these enterprise-wide
information systems have a significant impact on current business [1,2]. Today almost all large
companies, including the companies providing public transport, use some information system. Then
the RFID technology in this context creates a new paradigm which is linked with business process
automation [3]. Parallel with above-mentioned the evolution of RFID technology new applications
in new areas are developed. The public transport is just one of many others sectors that could
benefit from the RFID applications, there are a numerous studies concerned with RFID technology,
e.g. [4,5,6].
The reminder of the paper is organized as follows. Firstly, the RFID technology and technical
interfaces is presented. Next section describes application of RFID technology in selected company
focusing on public transport. Finally, summarized comments and conclusive remarks are provided
in the conclusion of the paper.
RFID technology as a part of information systems for business processes automation
Definition of information systems. Information system (IS) is composed of personnel, work
practices methodologies, programming and technical resources, which are designed to provide
processes for gathering, transmission, storage, processing, collection, distribution and subsequent
presentation of information [4]. The main objective of each information system is to achieve the
highest quality in the shortest time and at the lowest possible cost. Information system currently
significantly affects real human knowledge in different spheres of existence. Individuals for their
way of management and decision-making need new information that it must be constantly provided
in the required quantity and quality [5].

In general, information systems can be understood as a data processing system, which is
characterized by the achievement of these objectives [6]:
strategic (investment planning),
tactical (management, budgetary control),
operational (daily routine).
IS must meet the following basic characteristics reflecting their quality [7]:
Information should correspond to the nature and needs of different levels of management,
frequency and speed of information gathering must enable their effective use in deciding
channels of information transmission must be adapted to the organizational structure
taking into account the requirements of the shortest path between sender and receiver,
the transmission of information should be as closely as possible to avoid intermediary
rule which deform and distort information,
forms of presentation of information must be communicative and options tailored to their
understanding of the stakeholders,
information system must meet the functional integration and interconnects all in-house
departments and provide feedback
information system must be capable enough to adapt to changing conditions in the
internal and external environment of the company.
Information system is composed of three basic components: Input (the component that allows
capturing of information and other inputs, which become the subject of processing or process
interconnection), processing (the main component providing transformation of inputs into the
desired outputs) and output (the component with the ability to transfer information and other inputs
to their addressee user) [8].
Technical interfaces of RFID technology. Radio frequency technology (RFID) is based on the
principle of radio transmission of information between the transmitter sensor (reader) and moving
object (material, pallets, cars, etc..) equipped with RFID tag (see Fig. 1). The advantage of RFID
versus bar code tags is that the reader may not have visual contact with tag. Tag can be stored inside
the packaging or on the product, which is protected from moisture, temperature, dirt and other
damage [9].
Components of the RFID system [9]:
Transponder - RFID tag, which is formed by chip (electronic memory circuit), antenna,
and in the case of active tags is also equipped with its own power source (battery). All
these components are then placed on the pad properly constructed of plastic or paper,
RFID reader (sensor), which is formed by transmitter, receiver circuit with a decoder and
antenna. In some cases, the sensor can be also equipped with its own operating system
with basic software functionality,
Middleware, which consists of support systems (control computers, database,
telecommunications network).
Fig. 1 Components architecture of RFID system [10]
Distribution of RFID tags according to type of power supply and frequency band. Passive
RFID tag does not include own power supply and is dependent on the supply of energy from the

antenna. Sensor spread using antenna electromagnetic field, which serves as an energy source for
the of RFID tag and also as a communication channel in the direction from the sensor to the RFID
tag. The primary purpose of deployment of passive of RFID is the identification of objects at which
transfer pulse hammered right in the tag [10].
Active RFID tag is not based only on the identification of objects but contains also other
functions such as measuring temperature, pressure and the like. Active RFID tag may be
independent of the sensor, the sensor can include the measurement of physical quantities and are
often capable of visual and audible dialogue with a user. It receives and transmits data at the same
time [10]. The comparison of communication passive and active RFID tags is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 Communication of the a) passive RFID tag to transfer pulses for response,
b) active RFID tag with modulated data [10]
Selection of the suitable frequency (see Tab. 1) for a specific application is one of the most
important phases of the design of the system RFID. From this choice follows a number of other
constraints such as: the impact of reading, speed reading and writing, usability in different
environments and under [11].
Table 1 Frequency bands of RFID systems [11]
Frequency band Frequency range
Most commonly used frequencies
within the of RFID system
Low frequency (LF) 100 kHz – 500 kHz 125 kHz, 134.2 kHz
High frequency (HF) 10 MHz – 15 MHz 13.56 MHz
Ultra high frequency (UHF) 400 MHz – 950 MHz 866 MHz - Europe, 915 MHz - USA
Microwave (μW) 2.4 GHz – 6.8 GHz 2.45 GHz, 3.0 GHz
Information technology in public bus transport companies
Public transport companies use the most frequently two information systems. The main IS, which is
adapted for public transport undertakings and processes data from administrative personnel and part
editing timetables and rotas through movements to operations with smart cards. The second IS has
economic character that serves a supplementary accounting system primary for processing and
maintaining employee personnel administration, payroll administration, payroll staff, including the
calculation of social contribution tax obligations and customer. These information systems are
incompatible with each other and the data can be transferred between them difficult, causing lack of
automation in the process of company. That fact provides for a search of a system, which allows the
transfer and processing outputs of these IS.
Similarly, a major challenge currently in public transport becomes implementation identification
system using RFID technology (see Fig. 3) for the selected process. The main reason for the
implementation of RFID systems is to increase the control and tracking of vehicles service provider.
In this context, RFID system provides greater reliability, more detailed information as part of a
tracking of vehicles. Implementation of RFID systems will be ensured and increased automation of
collection, transfer and record data obtained by the service provider can be used for continuous
improvement of planning and management of transport.
RFID systems implementation offers a wide range of options in the field of undertaking for
public bus transport. Implementation of RFID system brings to a company:
position monitoring of the vehicles in real time,

compliance checking of technical conditions of the vehicles,
registry of driven kilometers for the purposes of compliance with service interval,
identification of the vehicles in order to track entrance/exit of the parking area,
better use of passenger platforms and increase of awareness, etc.
Fig. 3 Inclusion of RFID systems to the current structure of IS in public bus transport
Application of RFID technology in public transport company
Parking system facilities.The system facilities for the RFID technology implementation consists of
hardware and software tools. In this sense, parking system works on a principle of mutual
interaction below-mentioned facilities. While the all hardware devices operate on UHF - ultra high
frequency the software system is understood as computational devices (server, database, etc.).
In this application study a high-performance sensor with long range (UHF RFID) is used, which
is especially designed for the purposes of the parking systems. Sensor Villa pro LRR 800 enables to
read RFID tags at a distance of 8 m. Frequency range of LRR 800 is between 865 ~ 868 MHz.
Automatic operations and interactive activation mode of work is a part of the sensor equipment.
RFID sensor also contains a 12dBi antenna. The RFID reader ability to recognize tags is in the
range: 8-15 m, under ideal conditions. As an UHF RFID tags were used UHF RFID cards G2CARD
as well as passive anti-metallic tags (G2TAG, G3TAG, SG2TAG), see Fig. 4.
The basic principles to use and guidelines for placement of RFID tag are as follows:
tag/card should be placed in a horizontal position on the sensor reading direction –in
this case most often the suction cup on the windshield is used,
tag/card does not belong to the arbitrary metal parts of the vehicle,
tag/cardis becoming unreadable if the vehicle has a coated or heated windscreen.
Fig. 4 All components for the proper functionality of the parking system
Formation of parking system based on chosen facilities. This abonent parking system in most
cases is used to short stay vehicle for the purposes of board or alights of passengers. The main part
of the parking system based on RFID technology is the server room which containing the
headquarters data and electrical wiring. Transfer of signals from the entrance/exit terminal is
transmitted via fiber optic cables and induction loop through signal converter.
Currently, the parking system is using by three types of a carries (internal, external and
accidental – disposable service providers). In order to monitor, control and manage of the parking

systems there are two entrance/exit gates that operate on a similar principle. Gate no.1 is intended
only for the entrance/exit of internal and external carries and gate no.2 is available to the
entrance/exit for accidental – disposable carriers. For the exit of accidental carriers from the parking
area is required to use a payment station (see Fig. 5).
Fig. 5 Block diagram of parking system facilities for public bus transport
Each of the vehicles is equipped with the RFID card/tag that contains a unique identification
number. RFID card/tag is assigned to a particular license plate of the vehicle. The accidental carriers
should be use the payment station before departure from the parking area. After the reading RFID
card/tag by reader that is placed on the payment station the parking fee is generated. Subsequently,
it is necessary to leave the parking area at a specified time interval through entrance/exit gates. For
the internal and external carries who have agreed contractual terms (not pay one-time charges) is an
identification process of the entrance/exit showed in Fig. 6.
Fig. 6 Procedure for the identification of internal and external vehicles a) at the entrance to the
parking area b) at the exit from the parking area
Among the possible direct benefits of the parking system in public transport company resulting
from the implementation of RFID technology can be considered:
adherence to compliance with timetable of internal vehicles,
monitoring of parking places through central identification system,
verification of authorization for entrance of the external and accidental vehicles,
time recording and counting the number of entrances/exits,
the ability to use an electronic wallet,
passage of vehicles is not conditioned by stopping in front of the terminal.
For the disadvantages resulting from the implementation of RFID technology to the parking
system can be regarded:
to provide RFID card/tag for all internal vehicles,
to purchase RFID card/tag for all external vehicle carriers for the use of the car park.

Conclusion
Parking system based on RFID technology to public transport businesses is a suitable solution for
all businesses operating in this sector and provides wide scope for data collection. After a
processing and statistical evaluation of data the efficient alternative for businesses can be ensured.
Our application study showed that RFID technology is fully usable to parking system in public
transport. Implementation of RFID in this case can carry a variety of benefits e.g. increase a
comfort and productivity of driver, fuel savings, reduce administrative and human resources
(mistakes and errors), reduce the delays and maximize efficiency of paying for parking services.
These benefits must be also verified in further experimental investigation regarding the
implementation of RFID in public transport.
Acknowledgement
Research reported in this paper was supported by EU Structural Funds within the project
”Promotion & Enhancement of Center for Research on Transportation” ITMS code 26220220160.
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