A new market study from IMS Research forecasts that the world market for mobile video surveillance will reach almost US$500 million by 2011.  The triple threat of terrorist attack, vandalism and litigation is causing governments and transport operators to protect their vehicles and passengers with security cameras.

Of all the markets for mobile video surveillance, the bus and coach market is leading the way.  According to market analyst Alastair Hayfield, “Europe is an established market for video surveillance on-board buses and, with large projects like that proposed by Stockholm Transport, growth will be upbeat for some time to come.  In North America the school bus market continues to drive growth; and, with major transit bus projects seen recently in Chicago, New York and Toronto that growth will remain strong.”  Hayfield goes on to say, “Asia has seen less investment in these systems to date but with the news that China has recently invested in its first bus surveillance system coupled with its investment in infrastructure leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games, the market is set to grow strongly over the next 5 years.”

Within the bus and coach video surveillance market there is a general trend to install more cameras and features per bus.  Where previously a system may have had two or three cameras monitoring the doorway and aisle of a bus, going forward more cameras will be used to give complete coverage of the inside and outside of a bus.  Furthermore, GPS data and sensor inputs such as those from turn signals are being recorded alongside the video footage to give a clearer picture of the events leading up to an incident.

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