Dynamics of bidirectional pedestrian flow in a corridor including individuals with disabilities

Abstract

In this paper, a modified floor field model is proposed to study dynamics of counter flow in a corridor involving various types of members, i.e., normal pedestrians, pedestrians on crutches, seniors with sticks, pedestrians in manual wheelchairs and blind pedestrians. Multi-speed characteristics, occupation difference and typical behaviors (i.e., overtaking, helping and avoidance behaviors) are simulated in our model. Through simulations in bidirectional flow, typical phenomena (namely lane formation and congestion) are created. The negative effect of the proportion of individuals with disabilities on movement efficiency of heterogeneous counter flow is reproduced. Results suggest that appropriate overtaking willingness has a positive influence on pedestrian counter flow. Helping behavior can induce pedestrian counter flow more orderly, and improve crowd movement efficiency. The proposed model is helpful to enrich modeling approaches for individuals with disabilities, and is beneficial to heterogeneous crowd management.