Modeling and controlling congestion caused by a bottleneck in an overcrowded aquarium

Riho Kawaguchi, Daichi Yanagisawa, Claudio Feliciani, Shigeto Nozaki, Yukari Abe, Makiko Mita and Katsuhiro Nishinari

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2023, vol. 615, issue C

Abstract: In this study, we modeled a crowded aquarium using a modified totally asymmetric simple exclusion process and propose a new ticketing system with optimized input rates. We performed a case study for Kaiyukan, a large-scale aquarium in Japan, which encounters heavy congestion primarily caused by a bottleneck in the visitor traffic flow. Kaiyukan has a simple structure and is distinct in that visitors walk through a fixed one-way aisle, as opposed to a typical museum or aquarium layout where visitors can move freely through open areas. We investigated basic congestion features caused by the bottleneck using theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, and developed a new indicator to estimate congestion. Using the model and indicator, we developed a novel ticketing system designed to reduce congestion while preserving the maximum flow. The proposed system includes a 30 min break and indicated a better performance than the conventional method of aiming to maintain a constant input rate. The results indicate that Kaiyukan can reduce the number of visitors waiting and maintain its current daily attendance by introducing our ticketing system.

Keywords: ASEP; Pedestrian behavior; Crowd control; Aquariums (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:615:y:2023:i:c:s0378437123001024

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2023.128547

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