THE DYNAMICS OF TRAVELLATORS IN UNDERGROUND SPACE

AUTOR(I) / AUTHOR(S): John Zacharias

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DOI:  10.46793/ACUUS2025.4.5.33

SAŽETAK / ABSTRACT:

Travellators, also known as moving walkways, are typically installed to move people quickly and over extended distances in large facilities. They are commonly used in airport terminals and in underground corridors between metro stations, and are generally believed to enable moving larger numbers of people more quickly from point to point than can be achieved without the facility. Utility from the user perspective includes perceived time and kinetic energy savings, while management aims to increase throughput where there is heavy demand. An empirical study is necessary to evaluate how such facilities are actually used and to what extent these utility goals are achieved. Variables in resulting throughput, measured as speed, include 1) standees on the moving travellator, 2) moving pedestrians on the travellator, 3) pedestrians walking on the ground, 4) total pedestrian volume 5) incline of the walking surface. The case study is in the MTR system of Hong Kong, which has several examples of travellators. The heavily used corridors between Central Station and Hong Kong Station provided the test case of four travellators and related open floor areas. Counts were extracted from video capture. The travellator improved efficiency by about 17% during non-saturated flow conditions. Those walking on the travellator walked more slowly than those on firm ground but travelled faster overall because of the travellator motion. The travellator serves to organize the traffic streams, offers an alternate experience of displacement and a place for screen-related activities.

KLJUČNE REČI / KEYWORDS:

travellator, moving walkway, pedestrians, underground network, Hong Kong

PROJEKAT / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

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