Fleet movements, dwell tracking, depot security.
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Vehicle access control for a bus or rail depot has to track every movement in and out, match it to a vehicle and keep the fleet moving on a tight rotation. Nedap Transit Ultimate identifies fleet vehicles from up to 15 metres at full approach speed, uPASS Go reads the same passive tag across depots, garages and restricted roads, and ANPR Lumo covers older vehicles and visiting buses by number plate.
We distribute and support all three as Nedap's certified UK partner, and work with your installer from specification to commissioning.
Public transport depots run on tight rotation schedules. Every movement in and out needs to be tracked, timed and matched to a vehicle, a driver and a duty, and manual logs can't keep up.
Short-range readers struggle with the geometry of a long or articulated vehicle approaching a depot gate: the reader on the post is nowhere near the driver's window.
At a rail depot or freight yard the same applies to the road vehicles that serve it: maintenance crews, staff and the HGVs at an intermodal terminal.
The challenge
A short-range reader on a post is out of the driver's reach on a long or articulated vehicle, so buses stop and queue at the gate.
The answer
Transit Ultimate reads a windscreen tag from up to 15 metres, the range a depot entry needs, so the bus is identified without slowing and the barrier is opening as it arrives.
The challenge
Every in and out has to be tied to a vehicle, a driver and a time, and a manual log at the gate cannot keep pace with the rotation.
The answer
Each read is passed to the depot's fleet management or scheduling system, so supervisors see live depot occupancy and the history of each vehicle's movements.
The challenge
Depots, garages and restricted access roads each need a reader, and a tag that only works at one of them is no use to a fleet.
The answer
uPASS Go is the cost-effective passive UHF option, and the same tag is read at every site and access point the fleet uses.
The challenge
Not every vehicle on the depot carries a tag: older fleet, and visiting buses from a partner operator.
The answer
ANPR Lumo reads the plate from 2 to 10 metres, so there is complete coverage without retrofitting tags to every vehicle.
A depot gate sees the operator's own fleet, the same fleet at other sites, and the occasional vehicle without a tag. Each is identified in the way that suits it, and every reader reports to the same system.
Each bus carries a tag in the windscreen, and Transit Ultimate reads it at full approach speed with the long range a depot entry needs. Every in and out event is passed to the fleet management or scheduling system, where it is timestamped against the vehicle, and an out-of-hours or unscheduled movement can raise an alert in the control room.
Where the fleet moves between depots, garages and restricted roads, the same battery-free tag is read at every site.
Older vehicles and visiting buses from a partner operator are identified by number plate, with no tag to fit.
Transit Ultimate reads the windscreen tag from up to 15 metres while the bus is still moving.
Norpass3, or the fleet system already on site, checks it against the fleet list.
No stopping, and the driver stays on schedule.
Vehicle and time, for depot occupancy and the duty record.
Because every event is tied to a vehicle and a time, the same readers serve the rest of the operation.
A reader at a bus gate or road blocker lets buses through a route closed to other traffic, as on Neath Port Talbot Council's route.
uPASS Go reads the same tag at every site the fleet uses, so one tag covers depots, garages and restricted roads.
A reader there ties each visit to a vehicle and a time, for the maintenance schedule and defect reporting.
HGVs collecting and delivering containers are identified like any registered fleet, with ANPR Lumo for hauliers without a tag.
Bus & Rail Depots is one of 11 applications in Vehicle Access, Solved, the Nedap vehicle identification catalogue we publish for the UK and Ireland. Each page shows which reader does the main job, where a second reader picks up untagged or visitor vehicles, and a site where it is in use.
15 pages, PDF. Bus & Rail Depots is on page 10.
Open the applications catalogue
Case study
The council's bus-only route had been controlled for twenty years by road blockers and a tag system, on a road other drivers used as a rat-run. The readers were due for renewal, vandalism was a problem, and the tags had to work with the system already in use at Swansea University.
On Nortech's advice, Frontier Pitts fitted Nedap long-range UHF readers with a 10-metre read range, mounted high on the access posts out of reach, reading tags in any orientation and in all weather. Buses now use the same tag at both sites.
Installed by Frontier Pitts Ltd.
Read the full case study ›‘The choice of uPASS Target readers and vehicle tags provided us with solutions to our initial problems and has been a resounding success ever since.’
Phil Frohwein, Lighting & Telematics Engineer, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
None of the readers needs its own software. Each one hands the tag or plate number to an access control system as a standard reader, so it can be added to the system a depot already runs or to Norpass3, our licence-free access control software.
From there each in and out event can be passed to the fleet management or scheduling system, where it is timestamped and recorded against the vehicle. Because every event is tied to a specific vehicle and time, the same data supports defect reporting, driver duty handovers and maintenance scheduling, and an out-of-hours or unscheduled movement can trigger an alert to the control room. ANPR Lumo also has an Ethernet connection and a REST interface, so plate reads can be sent straight to other software.
Our engineers work through the integration with you or your installer before the hardware is specified, and stay involved through commissioning.
| Reader | Outputs and interfaces | Protection | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transit Ultimate | Outputs and interfaces Wiegand, magstripe and barcode outputs. RS232 as standard, with RS422, RS485, TCP/IP and Profibus DP interface boards | Protection IP66 | Transit Ultimate datasheet |
| uPASS Go | Outputs and interfaces Wiegand and magstripe (clock and data) outputs | Protection IP66 | uPASS Go datasheet |
| ANPR Lumo | Outputs and interfaces Wiegand, RS485 and Ethernet, with a REST interface for other software | Protection IP65 | ANPR Lumo datasheet |
Vehicle access control for a bus depot identifies each vehicle arriving at or leaving the depot gate and decides whether the barrier should open. Fleet vehicles are identified by a long-range RFID tag, older or visiting vehicles by number plate, and every movement is logged with the vehicle and the time.
Not to be identified. Transit Ultimate reads a windscreen tag from up to 15 metres at vehicle speeds of up to 200 km/h, so a bus is identified at its normal approach speed and the barrier can be opening as it arrives. A short-range reader on a post, by contrast, is often out of the driver's reach on a long or articulated vehicle.
Each in and out event is timestamped and passed to the depot's fleet management or scheduling system, which can then show current depot occupancy and each vehicle's movement history. What it shows depends on that system.
Yes. uPASS Go reads the same passive UHF tag at every site the fleet uses, so one tag covers depots, garages and restricted access roads. Neath Port Talbot Council's buses use the same tags on its bus-only route and at Swansea University.
ANPR Lumo reads the number plate from 2 to 10 metres, so an older vehicle or a visiting bus from a partner operator is identified without a tag being fitted.
In most cases, yes. Transit Ultimate, uPASS Go and ANPR Lumo all have a Wiegand output, so an access control system sees each one as a card reader, and ANPR Lumo can send plate reads to other software over its REST interface. How events reach a fleet management or scheduling system depends on what it accepts, which our engineers can work through with you.
It depends on the number of gates and sites, how many vehicles need tags, whether older or visiting vehicles are read by ANPR, and the barrier or gate work your installer carries out. Our ANPR system cost guide covers typical camera and installation costs, or ask us for a quote for your site.
Robust long-range reader, based on semi active RFID technology, which enables automatic vehicle identification at…
› View DetailsBased on battery-free passive UHF technology, the uPASS Go reader provides a cost-effective solution for convenient vehi…
› View DetailsThe ANPR Lumo is an all-in-one number plate camera, including embedded software, analyser and IR illuminator.
› View DetailsTogether with Nortech’s modular access control panels, Norpass3 access control software provides a high degree of…
› View DetailsEvery depot is different, and every fleet system has its quirks. Before the hardware is specified, talk to someone who has done it before.
Our engineers in Cwmbran will help you scope the application, recommend the reader mix, work through the integration with the systems already in place, and stay with you through commissioning. When you call, it's an engineer who answers.
Call +44 (0)1633 485 533
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