Abstract Manager

Transit stations play a key role in shaping urban mobility. Efficient and well-designed transit stations can help enhance user experience, encourage transit usage, and facilitate connections. In recent years, with the advancement of pedestrian modelling software, transit agencies around the world are increasingly looking to leverage advanced simulation techniques to help them better understand how people move through and interact with spaces within a station environment. By considering factors such as crowd dynamics and human behavior, dynamic pedestrian modelling can help designers optimize the layout of transit stations to ensure seamless connectivity, minimize congestion points, and improve safety in the case of emergency situations. In addition, by optimizing the functionality and efficiency of these vital hubs, designers can help transit agencies and contractors right-size the stations to ensure an efficient use of space and minimize the cost associated with station construction.

This presentation will include an introduction to the various high-level considerations for an efficient transit station design and the range of benefits dynamic pedestrian modelling can bring to the process, such as time and cost savings and improvements to space planning. It will include three case studies on the application of MassMotion, a pedestrian simulation software, for rail transit stations of different scales – from regional heavy rail stations to municipal light rail stations – and provide a summary of the current state of practice and lessons learned from station design experiences in the UK, US, and Canada.

The presentation will help designers and transit agencies that are looking to incorporate dynamic pedestrian modelling and user-centred design principles to their existing or future station designs understand the range of considerations and benefits associated with adopting this approach and how it can help them create station designs that are more convenient, accessible, safe, and cost effective.