CrowdGauge

CrowdGauge is a mobile + web app that shows real-time rail car crowding at the station and per-car level, using a pragmatic mix of data sources: official occupancy feeds where available, station Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth counts (aggregated and privacy-preserving), and rider “quick tap” reports to fill gaps. The app highlights which platform section to stand on to board a less crowded car, and warns when crowding spikes due to delays, events, or service changes. For agencies/operators, a web dashboard provides heatmaps by station, time, and line, plus alerts when crowding exceeds thresholds so they can adjust dispatching, staffing, and announcements. This is not magic: per-car accuracy depends heavily on access to operator data or hardware at stations, so initial rollouts should focus on a few partner lines where instrumentation exists or can be installed cheaply.