Adaptive gateline configuration

1. A method of operating a gateline, comprising:

obtaining, at a computing device, information indicative of one or both of a current or predicted amount of throughput of transit users through the gateline;

calculating, based at least in part of the information, a desired configuration of flow direction for one or more fare gates in the gateline, wherein the desired configuration of the flow direction for the one or more fare gates comprises a number of inflow gates from the gateline and a number of outflow gates from the gateline;

comparing the desired configuration to a current gateline configuration; and

sending a command to the gateline to adjust the current gateline configuration to match the desired configuration based on a determination that the desired configuration is different than the current gateline configuration.

2. The method of operating a gateline of claim 1 , wherein:

the information comprises sensor information indicative of a number of transit users within one or more zones adjacent to the one or more fare gates in the gateline.

3. The method of operating a gateline of claim 2 , wherein:

the sensor information is further indicative of a velocity of at least one transit user within the one or more zones.

4. The method of operating a gateline of claim 1 , wherein:

the information comprises polling information from the one or more fare gates in the gateline.

5. The method of operating a gateline of claim 4 , wherein:

the polling information comprises an average throughput taken over a period of time.

6. The method of operating a gateline of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining crowd information regarding a number of people in an area to which the gateline allows transit users to exit or enter, wherein calculating the configuration of the one or more fare gates in the gateline is further based on the crowd information.

7. The method of operating a gateline of claim 1 , wherein:

the desired configuration comprises one or more of:

a determination of a direction of the throughput of transit users through the one or more gates in the gateline;

a determination of a maximum throughput of transit users through the one or more fare gates in the gateline; or

a determination of a minimum throughput of transit users through the one or more fare gates in the gateline.

8. A method of operating a gateline, comprising:

obtaining, at a computing device, information indicative of one or both of a current or predicted amount of throughput of transit users through the gateline;

determining a number of inflow gates from the gateline and a number of outflow gates from the gateline that are needed based at least in part on the information;

determining that a current gateline configuration does not have the number of inflow gates and the number of outflow gates; and

sending a command to the gateline to adjust the current gateline configuration to have the number of inflow gates and the number of outflow gates.

9. The method of operating a gateline of claim 8 , wherein:

the information comprises a predicted amount of throughput of transit users, the predicted amount of throughput being based at least in part on historical gateline polling information.

10. The method of operating a gateline of claim 8 , wherein:

obtaining information comprises retrieving from external database.

11. The method of operating a gateline of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining that a particular timeframe is typically volatile in terms of transit user throughput, wherein determining the number of the inflow gates from the gateline and a number of the outflow gates from the gateline that are needed is based at least in part on reactive gateline metrics based on the determination that the particular timeframe is typically volatile in terms of transit user throughput.

12. The method of operating a gateline of claim 8 , wherein:

the information is related to one or more of:

a current passenger level of one or more incoming transit vehicles;

an expected arrival time of one or more incoming transit vehicles;

weather data;

traffic information;

transit vehicle schedule information;

passenger ticket information; or

event information.

13. The method of operating a gateline of claim 8 , wherein:

the current or predicted amount of throughput comprises one or both of inflow or outflow of transit users.

14. The method of operating a gateline of claim 8 , wherein:

the information comprises a current queue length at the gateline.

15. A computing system for operating a gateline, comprising:

a communications interface;

a processor; and

a memory, the memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause the processor to:

obtain information indicative of one or both of a current or predicted amount of throughput of transit users through the gateline;

calculate, based at least in part of the information, a desired configuration of flow direction for one or more fare gates in the gateline, wherein the desired configuration of the flow direction for the one or more fare gates comprises a number of inflow gates from the gateline and a number of outflow gates from the gateline;

compare the desired configuration to a current gateline configuration; and

send, using the communications interface, a command to the gateline to adjust the current gateline configuration to match the desired configuration based on a determination that the desired configuration is different than the current gateline configuration.

16. The computing system for operating a gateline of claim 15 , further comprising:

one or more sensors that are configured to detect a number of transit users within one or more zones adjacent to the one or more fare gates in the gateline, wherein the information comprises the number of transit users detected by the one or more sensors.

17. The computing system for operating a gateline of claim 16 , wherein:

the one or more sensors comprise one or more of:

a stereoscopic sensor;

a depth camera;

an infrared sensor;

a closed circuit television camera;

a beacon in communication with one or more mobile devices of transit users; or

a pressure sensitive walkway.

18. The computing system for operating a gateline of claim 15 , wherein:

the computing system comprises a transit station server.

19. The computing system for operating a gateline of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

obtaining crowd information regarding a number of people in an area to which the gateline allows transit users to exit or enter, wherein calculating the configuration of the one or more fare gates in the gateline is further based on the crowd information.

20. The computing system for operating a gateline of claim 15 , wherein:

the information comprises a predicted amount of throughput of transit users, the predicted amount of throughput being based at least in part on historical gateline polling information.