ABC #395

NEWS
Aside from the expected screens
and passenger dividers (in principle
similar to what many consumers
in Australia and New Zealand have
seen used in supermarkets and
sundry stores), these include: a smart
camera for access control; automatic
vehicle disinfection without
passengers on board; and Eco3
air purification.
VIRUS SPIKE PUTS
BUS ANTI-COVID
MEASURES IN FOCUS
RECENT CORONAVIRUS case
number increases in Victoria has
put new emphasis on hygiene
protection strategies on buses
and coaches becoming standard
– not just optional – sooner rather
than later, according to a leading
European bus-body manufacturer
spokesperson.
“We are seeing certain
anti-coronavirus measures being ISO
certified in Europe due to demand,
where the impact of the disease has
reportedly been much greater than
here in Australia, in terms of cases
and deaths,” said Daniel Castro,
director at Irizar Asia Pacific Pty Ltd
based in Melbourne.
“Unfortunately, what we are
seeing here in certain parts of
Melbourne, Victoria, right now could
be an indication that such a virus
or maybe even future viruses could
repeat and would need to be best
managed and mitigated quickly,
so maybe anti-viral strategies and
improved hygiene and non-contact
screening measures on buses
should be made mandatory, so we
are being proactive and prepared
instead of being ‘reactive’ and
caught off guard,” he explained.
“In this way people can travel
more at ease on buses and it might
even help improve (or lessen)
social distancing, so as to increase
passenger capacity safely on buses,”
Castro added.
While such sentiments come
at a time Irizar is trialling its new
European-sourced suite of anti-virus
bus-travel solutions, it is quick
to point out the issue is greater
than one brand and that other
bus marques also have emerging
technologies and strategies to help
combat the spread of the disease.
“It might be a case where
government contracts for bus
services are only awarded in future
when the buses being used have
a checklist of anti-Covid measures
fitted from the factory, or need
them retrofitted by the aftermarket,
if and when such things exist,”
he suggested.
PT REACTIVATION
In a move to further promote
safe and sustainable collective
mobility, the Irizar Group in Europe
highlighted a range of hygiene
solutions recently, which Castro
has brought to the Asia-Pacific
market for extended trials and
further demonstration.
To combat the virus on public
transport, the company also
displayed its range of strategies to
help tackle the Covid-19 problem
on buses and coaches with a video
showcasing them in action.
Pictured:
In this way people
can travel more
at ease on buses
and it might even
help improve
(or lessen) social
distancing, so
as to increase
passenger
capacity safely
on buses,” Castro
added.
SMART CAMERAS
The access control camera is
a smart system located at the
vehicle’s entrance. Its goal is to keep
passengers who show symptoms,
or who do not follow the Covid-19
protocols, from boarding the vehicle,
Irizar explains.
It is equipped with a body
temperature sensor that measures
the temperature of the passengers
and signals when it is above 37˚C.
It also has artificial vision cameras
that can be used to detect whether
passengers are wearing masks
and the complete process is done
automatically and in real time,
it adds.
“When a passenger has a fever or
is not wearing a mask the system
will make a signal alerting them
that they may not board the vehicle
and the driver can act proactively
without needing supervision to
follow the established health
protocol,” Castro outlined.
“These cameras do not record
the personal data of passengers
in order to comply with privacy
requirements,” he is quick to explain.
The device provides the possibility
of being integrated with the fleet
manager product provided by
Irizar, for the purpose of monitoring
and managing the recorded
Covid-19 incidents quickly and
easily, Castro states.
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ABC July 2020 busnews.com.au