Case Study: Transport for London achieves more efficient cable car operations with Microsoft Azure

Developers use Azure IoT Hub to provide free Wi-Fi to customers and create new revenue opportunities

Transport for London wanted to improve customer service and run its Emirates Air Line cable car more efficiently and cost-effectively. Working with Microsoft Azure and Microsoft partner TBS Mobility/TBS Services, it explored an IoT-based approach using Azure IoT Hub, Azure Event Hubs, Azure Functions, Azure Stream Analytics, and related technologies to deliver free Wi‑Fi and gather operational data from cabins and stations.

Microsoft Azure helped implement a solution that combined smart CCTV people counting, Wi‑Fi performance testing, and LoRaWAN temperature/humidity sensors, with data flowing into Azure for analysis. The result was free Wi‑Fi for passengers, new revenue opportunities, and real-time operational insights that improve maintenance planning and service availability; the system now receives about 900 sensor messages per day from the cable car fleet.

Transport For London