Origin-Destination Estimation for Route Buses Using BLE Advertising Packets: a Case Study on Two Real-World Routes

Abstract

In recent years, regional bus operations have faced critical challenges including declining ridership and driver shortages. To address these issues and develop efficient operational plans, collecting Origin-Destination (OD) data is essential. However, conventional OD data collection methods are constrained by labor costs and time limitations, while IC card-based approaches miss flat-rate users and cash-paying passengers. Additionally, the introduction of facial recognition cameras raises social acceptability concerns due to surveillance implications. To address these challenges, this study focuses on using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertising packets emitted by passengers’ mobile devices. However, modern devices periodically and randomly change their BLE MAC addresses, making continuous tracking difficult throughout a trip. To overcome this, we propose a bus OD data estimation method that applies MAC address carry-over technique. This approach exploits the asynchronous nature of MAC address changes and the embedded information in packets to enable continuous tracking. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we conducted field experiments on two different operational bus routes. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can estimate OD data with an average precision of 70% (max: 100%, min: 53%) and an average recall of 34% (max: 59%, min: 15%).

Award

Best Student Paper Award

Links

code:references.bib

@inproceedings{bib:taito_BReID-Bus_ICMU2025,

author={Yoshimura, Taito and Hayashi, Kotaro and Arai, Ismail and Matsuda, Yuki},

title={Origin-Destination Estimation for Route Buses Using BLE Advertising Packets: a Case Study on Two Real-World Routes},

booktitle={The 15th International Conference on Mobile Computing and Ubiquitous Networking (ICMU '25)},

pages={x--x},

year={2025},

doi={},

url={}

}

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https://scrapbox.io/files/68db1957c93668395d2e05ba.png

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