Evaluating ticket gate directional restrictions using simulations of pedestrian flow considering stationary people in a railroad station concourse

Figures & data

Figure 1. Japan railway Tennoji station concourse.

Table 1. Survey summary.

Item	Contents
Target area	Concourse in front of the central gate of Japan Railway Tennoji Station
Date and time	14 June 2019 (Friday), cloudy
Time of day	7:30–8:30 (during commuting hours) 11:30–12:30 (during non-commuting hours)
Method	Visual counting survey (observation survey)
Target persons	Number of passers-by (flowing pedestrians) per minute Location and number of stationary people per minute
Number of observations	A total of twelve, one-minute counting surveys were conducted at five-minute intervals during each time period.

Figure 2. Number of people using Tennoji station (created by authors based on data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2022)).

Figure 3. Map of Japan railway Tennoji station concourse and locations of survey.

Figure 4. Average number of people flowing per minute during the commuting period.

Figure 5. Average number of people flowing per minute during the non-commuting period.

Figure 6. Comparison of the number of stationary people per minute according to time period.

Figure 7. Generation/disappearance locations and paths of flowing agents, and generation locations of stationary agents.

Figure 8. Chart of the agent-based modeling process.

Figure 9. Determining the direction of movement for a flowing agent (Moore neighborhood).

Figure 10. Avoidance behavior of a flowing agent.

Figure 11. Diagram of three possible directions of flowing agent movement.

Figure 12. Observed directional restrictions at the ticket gates during the survey (a) commuting period and (b) non-commuting period.

Table 2. Average number of flowing people per minute for each time period during the field survey.

Count location	Flow direction	Commuting period	Non-commuting period
A	In	55	48
B	Out	128	50
C	In	83	75
D	Out	160	82
E	In	70	17
F	Out	35	14
G	In	166	33
H	Out	67	42

In: Direction of entry into the concourse.

Out: Direction of exit from the concourse.

Table 3. Numbers of flowing agents appearing per minute during the commuting period.

Flowing agent	Departure location	Destination	Number and ratios of flowing agents	Percentage of flowing agents	Calculation	Number of generated agents
Person 1	AB	CD	Number of people in A: 55 D: FH = 160: 102	From A to D 61.1%	55 × 0.611 = 33.605	34
Person 2	AB	EFGH		From A to FH 38.9%	55 × 0.389 = 21.395	21
Person 3	CD	AB	Number of people in C: 83 B: FH = 128: 102	From C to B 55.7%	83 × 0.557 = 46.231	46
Person 4	CD	EFGH		From C to FH 44.3%	83 × 0.443 = 36.769	37
Person 5	EF	CD	Number of people in EG: 236 B: D = 128: 160 E: G = 70: 166	From E to D 16.5%	236 × 0.165 = 38.940	39
Person 6	EF	AB		From E to B 13.2%	236 × 0.132 = 31.152	31
Person 7	GH	AB		From G to B 31.2%	236 × 0.312 = 73.632	74
Person 8	GH	CD		From G to D 39.1%	236 × 0.391 = 92.276	92

Table 4. Numbers of flowing agents appearing per minute during the non-commuting period.

Flowing agent	Departure location	Destination	Number and ratios of flowing agents	Percentage of flowing agents	Calculation	Number of generated agents
Person 1	AB	CD	Number of people in A: 48 D: FH = 82: 56	From A to D 59.4%	48 × 0.594 = 28.512	29
Person 2	AB	EFGH		From A to FH 40.6%	48 × 0.406 = 19.488	19
Person 3	CD	AB	Number of people in C: 75 B: FH = 50: 56	From C to B 47.2%	75 × 0.472 = 35.400	35
Person 4	CD	EFGH		From C to FH 52.8%	75 × 0.528 = 39.600	40
Person 5	EF	CD	Number of people in EG: 50 B: D = 50: 82 E: G = 17: 33	From E to D 21.1%	50 × 0.211 = 10.550	11
Person 6	EF	AB		From E to B 12.9%	50 × 0.129 = 6.450	6
Person 7	GH	AB		From G to B 25.00%	50 × 0.250 = 12.500	13
Person 8	GH	CD		From G to D 41.00%	50 × 0.410 = 20.500	20

Table 5. Average numbers of stationary people for each time period during the field survey.

Stationary location	Commuting period	Non-commuting period
Pillar 1	2	1
Pillar 2	5	6
Pillar 3	4	4
Pillar 4	1	2
Pillar 5	2	4
Pillar 6	0	1
Pillar 7	0	0
Between Pillars 2 and 4	0	2
Between Pillars 3 and 5	0	2
Along the wall	3	10

Table 6. Error rate of the number of people or agents passing through the target station.

Flowing agent	Commuting period			Non-commuting period
	At time of the survey	Simulation	Error rate	At time of the survey	Simulation	Error rate
Person 1	34	32.7	−4%	29	28.8	−1%
Person 2	21	20.6	−2%	19	18.6	−2%
Person 3	46	46.0	0%	35	35.5	1%
Person 4	37	36.8	−1%	40	39.1	−2%
Person 5	39	38.5	−1%	11	11.0	0%
Person 6	31	30.8	−1%	6	5.7	−5%
Person 7	74	74.0	0%	13	12.8	−2%
Person 8	92	89.3	−3%	20	20.3	2%

Figure 13. Walking time from the generation position to the destination.

Figure 14. Simulated situation at a moment in time during the (a) commuting and (b) non-commuting periods.

Figure 15. Flowing agent walking times according to the number of stationary agents during commuting hours.

Figure 16. Simulated situation at a moment in time with (a) 0, (b) 15, and (c) 30 stationary agents.

Figure 17. Evaluated ticket gate directional restriction patterns: (a) unrestricted, (b) Pattern 1, (c) Pattern 2, (d), Pattern 3, and (e) Pattern 4.

Figure 18. Flowing agent walking times according to ticket gate directional restriction pattern.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 2022. “Public Transport Policy: The 12th Transportation Census of Urban Cities, Survey of Fiscal Year 2017 (Analysis).” Accessed 21 October 2022. https://www.mlit.go.jp/sogoseisaku/transport/sosei_transport_tk_000091.html

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