Role of Passengers in a Modern Urban Rail Transit System

Abstract

One inherent nature of the passenger transportation industry is that passengers are directly involved in the entire production process--the transportation itself, and they are always in the center of everything we do in managing the operations of an Urban Rail Transit (URT) system. Hence, a full understanding of the role and the impact of URT passengers is fundamental to the success of the operation of any URT systems. With new technologies being introduced into URT systems, the role of URT passengers has been changing. Traditionally, the role of URT passengers is in general a passive one. However, modern URT systems are increasingly witnessing passengers taking a more and more active role. Thus, a review and rethink of the passenger's role in an URT system is extremely necessary.