Camera systems for buses and public transport

Operators need evidence for incidents, ridership numbers, and proof that drivers stay alert on long routes.

The short answer

City buses and coaches need four to eight camera views: the road, the driver, each door, the aisle and the rear. An MDVR records them all. The WD10 takes four 1080p or eight 720p cameras and a hard disk of up to 2 TB. The WD11 records to two SD cards and counts passengers on one to four doors with 3D binocular sensors.

Camera views: 4 to 8
Recorder: WD10 or WD11 MDVR
Storage: Hard disk up to 2 TB, or dual SD

What goes wrong, and what video changes

Incidents and complaints
Falls, disputes and collisions need evidence from inside and outside the bus. Interior and exterior cameras record every view with the same time and GPS position.
Ridership numbers
Counts of people boarding and alighting at each door help operators plan capacity and reconcile fares.
Alertness on long routes
A driver-monitoring camera detects fatigue and distraction and warns the driver; the events are logged for the control room.

Recommended camera layout

An MDVR records four to eight interior and exterior cameras and counts passengers at the doors, with driver alerts and live video sent to the control room over 4G.

Camera layout for buses and public transport
Position	Equipment	What it covers
Windscreen, facing the road	ADAS Camera	Lane-departure, pedestrian and vehicle-distance warnings
Dashboard or A-pillar	AHD005 DSM Camera	Driver fatigue and distraction
Above each door	3D passenger counter on the WD11	Boarding and alighting counts, on one to four doors
Ceiling, aisle and doors	AHD003 dome cameras	Passengers, seating and door areas, with infrared at night
Side of the body	BSD Camera	Cyclists and pedestrians alongside the bus at junctions
Rear	Exterior AHD camera	Reversing and vehicles behind

What this setup gives you

Door-by-door passenger counts
Interior and exterior video
Driver scoring from AI events

How ADAS, DMS and BSD alerts work

Products in this setup

Storage and mobile data

How long footage is kept

This setup records 8 × 720p, about 10.8 GB an hour at standard quality. On a 2 TB hard disk, the largest the WD10 takes, that is roughly 170 hours of recording before the oldest footage is overwritten, or about 340 hours in H.265, which the WD10 supports.

Storage calculator

How much 4G data it uses

Recording uses no mobile data. Tracking uses about 17 MB a month at a 30-second interval. Watching all 8 cameras of this setup on the sub-stream for an hour uses about 320 to 480 MB. A 15-second event clip is about 5.6 MB at 720p or 7.5 MB at 1080p.

4G data calculator

Before you order

On the WD10, passenger counting cannot run at the same time as ADAS and DMS, and each counter uses two channels. Tell us your door count and we will confirm the configuration.
The WD10 and WD11 run up to four AI channels together (one ADAS, one DMS and two BSD), take 10–36 V DC and operate from -20 °C to +70 °C.
The WD10 has four alarm inputs for panic buttons and door sensors, and RS232 and RS485 ports for a card reader or other serial devices.
4G and GPS are optional modules on the WD10 and WD11: order them for live video and location in the control room. We recommend professional installation.

Bus camera questions

What is an MDVR on a bus?

An MDVR (mobile digital video recorder) on a bus is a recorder installed in the vehicle that records four or eight cameras at the same time to a hard disk or SD cards. With 4G and GPS it sends video, location and alerts to a control room.

How does passenger counting work?

A 3D binocular infrared sensor above each door measures depth, which separates people who board together, and counts those entering and leaving. Our specification rates the WD11's counter above 95% accuracy; mounting height, door width and lighting affect the result.

Hard disk or SD cards for a bus?

A hard disk holds more: the WD10 takes up to 2 TB, which suits eight cameras and long retention. SD cards have no moving parts and suit smaller systems: the WD11 takes two cards of up to 256 GB each.

Can the control room watch a bus live?

Yes. Over 4G, managers watch live video, play back and download clips, and follow the vehicle on the map in the Traqcare app or web platform. A data SIM is required.

Guides for this fleet

Not sure which camera fits your fleet?

Tell us your vehicles and what you need to see. An engineer recommends a setup, usually within 2 hours.

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