passenger requirements in an automated transport system

this report presents the results from an experimental study which provided human factors data on passenger behaviour in relation to certain aspects of vehicle design and station layout on an urban rapid transit system. an extensive series of tests was carried out using full scale mock-up vehicle and platforms to study, inter alia, the effects on vehicle dwell time of: 1 vehicle size; 2 vehicle door size and using separate doors for entry and exit; 3 the number of people in the vehicle, on the platform and inter-changing between the two; 4 overloading the vehicle with passengers; 5 platform size and layout, including the provision of barriers. the tests were mainly carried out using a static vehicle but in some cases the vehicle was moved in and out of the station to determine the effect of vehicle movement, particularly deceleration, on passenger behaviour at the station. the rapid transit system under study will serve as great a proportion as possible of the urban community; the handicapped persons and those inconvenienced with luggage or pushchairs have been given special considerations in the experimental trials. the report also discusses the implication for passenger behaviour, and hence system performance, of choosing certain vehicle and station design features. (a)