Pedestrian dynamics in a heterogeneous bidirectional flow : Overtaking behaviour and lane formation

Abstract

We propose an optimization-based counterflow model to simultaneously investigate the pedestrian lane formation and overtaking behaviour in a heterogeneous bidirectional pedestrian flow. A comparison of pedestrian flow patterns in bidirectional flows with overtaking behaviour between the proposed model and a counterflow-based active decision model is performed with real collected data. Furthermore, the fundamental diagram of heterogeneous pedestrian counterflows with different corridor widths is compared with the experimental data. The effects of personal preferences regarding evading behaviour, going straight ahead and the right-hand traffic norm on lane formation are also studied for different corridor geometries with various pedestrian densities. The numerical results show that both overtaking behaviour in sparse bidirectional crowds and personal preference for the right-hand traffic norm in a wide corridor may reduce the specific flow of a pedestrian counterflow. Simultaneously, a strong personal preference for the right-hand traffic norm can determine lane formation in a counterflow scenario regardless of differences in corridor widths, pedestrian densities or other personal preferences. Additionally, lane formation may enhance not only the traffic efficiency of the whole counterflow but also the mobility of fast pedestrians in a heterogeneous bidirectional pedestrian flow. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.