SJA hears exclusively from Nick Karakulko, Senior Director of Critical Infrastructure Protection Solutions at Octave about the role integrated systems play in smart cities.
When you get into a car today, it does far more than take you from one place to another.
It can map the fastest route around traffic, warn you about hazards, tell you when something needs repair and even call for help after a crash.
These features have become so commonplace that most of us barely notice the layers of real-time data and connected systems working behind the scenes.
For many mass-transit agencies, that kind of integration is almost nonexistent.
That’s because transit organizations manage critical functions like routing, maintenance and security across disconnected legacy systems that do not communicate with one another.
These digital fiefdoms are an efficiency killer that can slow decision-making, limit coordination and make it harder for agencies to respond quickly when problems arise.
At best, that costs time and money. At worst, it can cause actual harm to riders.
Modernizing requires transit agencies to secure the public funding and political willpower to invest in bringing their systems to the next level.
We now have tools like AI-powered cameras that can identify abandoned suitcases, LiDAR sensors that can recognize debris in tunnels and “digital twin” environments that can help make transit systems smarter, safer and faster.
Rather than relying on “if you see something, say something” reports, new technologies can detect and mitigate incidents in progress without anyone having to say a word.
Here’s an example of how an integrated system might enable crime prevention.
The AI-powered camera detects the crime and sends an alert to the system – identifying the exact location of the train car along the route.
The system can predict what time the train will arrive at the next station and which municipality that station is located in, dispatching local authorities there with an image or video of the suspect in hand.
If necessary, an ambulance and/or repair crew can be sent as well.
At the same time, operators can view assets and GIS data related to the incident location, evaluating potential re-routing needs in order to maintain overall system velocity while the incident is managed.
Such a scenario requires data from multiple sources – security cameras, route maps, emergency management contacts, crew availability and asset status – pulled into a single platform.
Passenger safety may be the clearest case for integrated systems, but the benefits do not stop there. Some of the most compelling examples are also the most practical.
One that stood out to me recently is using AI to detect overflowing trash cans.
On light rail systems that span vast metro areas, this tool can help agencies send maintenance crews where they are needed most, reduce wasted time and improve the day-to-day experience for riders.
We’ve also seen repair times cut in half simply by better integrating data related to repair crew availability, asset status and historic maintenance logs.
Having worked with mass transportation agencies and large security networks for 30 years, I’ve had a front-row seat to the evolution of these systems.
While threats, expectations and operational demands have changed dramatically, much of the software transit operators rely on has not because legacy systems continue to hold agencies back.
Transit leaders should use moments of urgency and visibility to press for more integrated systems that connect these silos and deliver a single, map-centric operational picture.
The payoff is practical and immediate: