Impact of real-time crowding information on mass-transit passengers’ platform placement choices

Florian Leprévost, Arthur Portron, Kirusha Krishnakaran, Élise Grison and Simone Morgagni

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2026, vol. 211, issue C

Abstract: Crowding in public transport systems affects both passenger comfort and network efficiency. Besides operational solutions, interventions targeting passenger behaviour could address this issue efficiently. Real-Time Crowding Information (RTCI) systems, which display coach-level occupancy on platform screens, can help passengers avoid the most congested coaches or trains. However, existing research on RTCI’s impact on passenger behaviour, relies predominantly on stated preference surveys, where respondents declare a single dominant strategy. Such designs cannot capture the trade-offs passengers make when competing cues – entrance proximity, exit knowledge, and crowding information – simultaneously influence their choice, nor can they reveal dynamic effects arising when passengers confront actual crowding after receiving RTCI.

Keywords: Real-time Crowding Information; Passenger behavior; Experimental psychology; Crowd management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2026.105081

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