Including passengers’ response to crowding in the Dutch national train passenger assignment model
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
2014
Subject Area
mode - rail, place - europe, ridership - perceptions, operations - crowding, operations - capacity, operations - scheduling, organisation - management, ridership - modelling, ridership - mode choice
Keywords
Crowding, Transit assignment, Passenger choice behavior, Transport modeling
Abstract
Transit passengers’ response to crowded conditions has been studied empirically, yet is limitedly included in transport models currently used in the design of policy and infrastructure investments. This has consequences for the practical applicability of these models in studies on, for instance, timetabling, train capacity management strategies, project appraisal, and passenger satisfaction. Here we propose four methods to include the effect of crowding, based on existing studies on passengers’ perception and response as well as often-used crowding indicators. These four alternative methods are implemented in the train passenger assignment procedure of the Dutch national transport model, and evaluated with respect to their impacts on the model results for the Dutch railway network. The four methods relate to four different ways in which an additive trip penalty and/or time-multiplier can be incorporated in the train utility function for different travel purposes, to capture the disutility of crowding as measured by the load factor. The analyses of the test case favor the hybrid method using both a boarding penalty (capturing seat availability upon boarding) and a time-multiplier (capturing physical comfort and safety throughout the trip). This method produces consistent results, while the additional computational effort that it imposes is acceptable. Further empirical underpinning is needed to conclusively show which of these methods best captures passengers’ response behavior quantitatively (for different travel purposes and conditions).
Rights
Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.
Recommended Citation
Pel, A.J., Bel, N.H. & Pieters, M. (2014). Including passengers’ response to crowding in the Dutch national train passenger assignment model. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 66, pp.111–126.
Comments
Transportation Research Part A Home Page:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564