The fundamental diagrams of elderly pedestrian flow in straight corridors under different densities

Abstract

The worldwide population is aging and countries are facing ongoing challenges in meeting the transportation demand of the elderly. In this study, we investigate the movement characteristics of the elderly in the straight corridor and compare them with those of young adults. The free speeds of the elderly (about 1.28 m s−1) are obviously slower than those of the young people (about 1.4 m s−1) in the laboratory experiments. It is found that the fundamental diagram of the elderly shows a similar trend compared with that of young pedestrians. However, at the same densities the speeds of the elderly are always lower than those of the young pedestrians in the observed density range (<3.0 m−2). When the mean velocity calculated from pedestrian movement at low densities is considered, the two normalized fundamental diagrams agree quite well. The reasons for the differences are explored by analyzing the border distance, the nearest neighbors as well as the spatial distribution areas of the pedestrians. Our findings can be useful for the improvement of pedestrian modelling and design of pedestrian facilities that are much friendlier to the elderly.