An elevator system comprising: an elevator car; a plurality of sensors associated with the elevator car, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to collect sensor data from one or more predefined areas associated with the elevator car; and a controller coupled to a memory, the controller configured to: receive a call request for the elevator car; receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors; determine an occupancy level in the elevator car based on a feature vector, generated by a machine learning model, comprising a plurality of features extracted from the sensor data; and operate the elevator car based at least in part on the occupancy level in the elevator car; wherein at least one of the one or more predefined floor areas comprises an area adjacent to an entryway for the elevator car; characterized in that the controller is further configured to analyze, utilizing the machine learning model, the sensor data to determine a lobby occupancy level of an elevator lobby associated with the call request; generate an occupancy threshold based at least in part on the lobby occupancy level; and based on a determination that the occupancy level in the elevator car is above the occupancy threshold, declining the call request for the elevator car. an elevator car; a plurality of sensors associated with the elevator car, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to collect sensor data from one or more predefined areas associated with the elevator car; and a controller coupled to a memory, the controller configured to: receive a call request for the elevator car; receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors; determine an occupancy level in the elevator car based on a feature vector, generated by a machine learning model, comprising a plurality of features extracted from the sensor data; and operate the elevator car based at least in part on the occupancy level in the elevator car; wherein at least one of the one or more predefined floor areas comprises an area adjacent to an entryway for the elevator car; characterized in that the controller is further configured to analyze, utilizing the machine learning model, the sensor data to determine a lobby occupancy level of an elevator lobby associated with the call request; generate an occupancy threshold based at least in part on the lobby occupancy level; and based on a determination that the occupancy level in the elevator car is above the occupancy threshold, declining the call request for the elevator car. receive a call request for the elevator car; receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors; determine an occupancy level in the elevator car based on a feature vector, generated by a machine learning model, comprising a plurality of features extracted from the sensor data; and operate the elevator car based at least in part on the occupancy level in the elevator car; wherein at least one of the one or more predefined floor areas comprises an area adjacent to an entryway for the elevator car; characterized in that the controller is further configured to analyze, utilizing the machine learning model, the sensor data to determine a lobby occupancy level of an elevator lobby associated with the call request; generate an occupancy threshold based at least in part on the lobby occupancy level; and based on a determination that the occupancy level in the elevator car is above the occupancy threshold, declining the call request for the elevator car.