Study on Occupancy Behaviors of Passengers in the Subway Cabin: An Observation in Chengdu, China

Insufficient attention has been paid to how subway cabins are used by passengers and especially the distribution of passengers and occupancy of facilities. In this study, passengers were observed in 133 sections from the beginning to the end of the early peak of Chengdu Metro in the working days. The differences in occupancy behaviors of passengers to different areas, seats, and standing auxiliary facilities in the cabin were analyzed by the nonparametric test. The occupancy curve was fitted by the least square method from the minimum to the maximum load factor, and the prediction and explanatory model for the use of cabin was established. As expected, the distribution of passengers in the cabin is uneven. The highest occupancy rate has been maintained at the cabin end. Female passengers accounted for the largest proportion in the door area, while male passengers accounted for a larger proportion at the end of the cabin. There is no difference in the use of different seat types by passengers. There are more seats in female passengers, and females are more likely to get the remaining seats when the seat load is nearly saturated. For the auxiliary standing facilities, there are always passengers who do not use the facilities and the proportion is increasing. The facilities that can be relied on account for a greater median proportion of the passengers with facilities, but service capacity is limited. In response to these conclusions, measures to improve the design of the cabin are proposed.