Smart Occupancy Monitoring System Using Iot Technologies for South African Minibus Taxis

The motorist industry is one of the largest contributors to economic growth nationwide. In South Africa (SA), minibus taxis are the second most used mode of transportation due to their accessibility and affordability. The majority of taxi owners presently utilize traditional methods to handle the daily operations of their minibus taxis, thus there is still a challenge in managing the entire amount of minibus taxi fares made each day. As a result, they frequently voice their displeasure with the unethical handling of taxi fare revenue caused by dishonest drivers who commit fraud or use their income for personal advantage, resulting in significant losses for the taxi industry because it cannot be accounted for. This has raised the desire for the design of a smart technological solution to support taxi owners in monitoring their minibus taxis and managing their money effectively. This paper designed an IoT-based smart occupancy monitoring system (IoT-SOMS) prototype that affords the functionality of seat occupancy tracking, calculating distance travelled, and fees in real-time. The designed prototype utilizes a Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) to detect occupancy; a proximity sensor to detect the presence of people and avoid overloading; an Ultrasonic sensor to calculate distance; GPS to monitor the location of the minibuses; and Arduino Uno as an IoT gateway. It was piloted by taxi owners, taxi drivers, and experts in the field to prove the accuracy, usability, and feasibility of research objectives. The findings demonstrate the accuracy and viability of the research's goals because they show that users highly valued the prototype's quality and were eager to utilize it.