The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency
A deeper understanding of pedestrian dynamics is essential to improve crowd flows in public spaces such as train stations. It is essential to understand both the physical and the psychological processes present in this context. However, current research on train boarding behavior is limited in scope...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224003051 |
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| author | Rabia I. Kodapanakkal Caspar A.S. Pouw Antal Haans Jaap Ham Gunter Bombaerts Alessandro Corbetta Andrej Dameski Andreas Spahn Federico Toschi |
| author_facet | Rabia I. Kodapanakkal Caspar A.S. Pouw Antal Haans Jaap Ham Gunter Bombaerts Alessandro Corbetta Andrej Dameski Andreas Spahn Federico Toschi |
| author_sort | Rabia I. Kodapanakkal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A deeper understanding of pedestrian dynamics is essential to improve crowd flows in public spaces such as train stations. It is essential to understand both the physical and the psychological processes present in this context. However, current research on train boarding behavior is limited in scope and mainly focuses on how group level variables such as number of boarders/deboarders influence train boarding efficiency. Viewing pedestrian dynamics through a psychological lens is important for a detailed understanding of the train boarding context and to recognize target areas for improvement. At Dutch train stations, boarders follow a social norm of waiting at the train door until deboarding is complete. Although people generally adhere to this norm, the way it is executed may not be optimal for deboarding efficiency. We investigate how waiting boarders form a deboarding channel (a corridor where deboarders exit the train) and how this channel in turn influences the efficiency of deboarding. Analyzing a dataset with 3278 boarding events at Utrecht Centraal Station in the Netherlands from 2017 to 2020 (subset of a trajectory dataset capturing 100,000 trajectories per day), we found that higher numbers of boarders and a higher ratio of boarders to deboarders, reduced the width of the deboarding channel, and a lower width was associated with lower deboarding efficiency. These results shift the focus from group level variables to identifying macroscopic structures that are formed when pedestrians interact within a social system and provide specific target areas where nudges/behavioral interventions could be implemented. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f0e49a4084854b4380b9e631b2928ada |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2590-1982 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj-art-f0e49a4084854b4380b9e631b2928ada2025-02-09T05:01:16ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822025-01-0129101319The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiencyRabia I. Kodapanakkal0Caspar A.S. Pouw1Antal Haans2Jaap Ham3Gunter Bombaerts4Alessandro Corbetta5Andrej Dameski6Andreas Spahn7Federico Toschi8Human-Technology Interaction Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the NetherlandsDepartment of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the Netherlands; ProRail BV, Moreelsepark 2, Utrecht 3511 EP, the NetherlandsHuman-Technology Interaction Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.Human-Technology Interaction Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the NetherlandsPhilosophy and Ethics Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the NetherlandsDepartment of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the NetherlandsPhilosophy and Ethics Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the NetherlandsPhilosophy and Ethics Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the NetherlandsDepartment of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB, the Netherlands; CNR-IAC, Rome, ItalyA deeper understanding of pedestrian dynamics is essential to improve crowd flows in public spaces such as train stations. It is essential to understand both the physical and the psychological processes present in this context. However, current research on train boarding behavior is limited in scope and mainly focuses on how group level variables such as number of boarders/deboarders influence train boarding efficiency. Viewing pedestrian dynamics through a psychological lens is important for a detailed understanding of the train boarding context and to recognize target areas for improvement. At Dutch train stations, boarders follow a social norm of waiting at the train door until deboarding is complete. Although people generally adhere to this norm, the way it is executed may not be optimal for deboarding efficiency. We investigate how waiting boarders form a deboarding channel (a corridor where deboarders exit the train) and how this channel in turn influences the efficiency of deboarding. Analyzing a dataset with 3278 boarding events at Utrecht Centraal Station in the Netherlands from 2017 to 2020 (subset of a trajectory dataset capturing 100,000 trajectories per day), we found that higher numbers of boarders and a higher ratio of boarders to deboarders, reduced the width of the deboarding channel, and a lower width was associated with lower deboarding efficiency. These results shift the focus from group level variables to identifying macroscopic structures that are formed when pedestrians interact within a social system and provide specific target areas where nudges/behavioral interventions could be implemented.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224003051Train boardingDeboarding efficiencySocial normsDeboarding channel |
| spellingShingle | Rabia I. Kodapanakkal Caspar A.S. Pouw Antal Haans Jaap Ham Gunter Bombaerts Alessandro Corbetta Andrej Dameski Andreas Spahn Federico Toschi The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives Train boarding Deboarding efficiency Social norms Deboarding channel |
| title | The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency |
| title_full | The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency |
| title_fullStr | The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency |
| title_short | The influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency |
| title_sort | influence of macroscopic pedestrian structures on train boarding efficiency |
| topic | Train boarding Deboarding efficiency Social norms Deboarding channel |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224003051 |
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