Understanding pedestrian route choice behavior in the continuous space: Diversity and equilibrium

Abstract

Exploring general rules from diverse motion choices in the real world is a pivotal area of study that deepens our understanding of pedestrian behavior. In this research, we conduct pedestrian circle antipode experiments, from which we extract pedestrians' trajectories from repeated trials. We focus on the symmetric features identified from these experiments and employ the K-Medoids trajectory clustering method alongside several behavioral indicators, namely route length, travel time, and comfort level, to distinguish and compare different trajectory route choice patterns. In doing so, we delve into the heterogeneous behaviors exhibited by pedestrians within a single experiment and the stochastic behaviors seen across different experiments for a single pedestrian. Additionally, we establish a linear model to scrutinize the equilibrium relationship among these behavioral indicators, and further deploy the Gaussian process to shed light on the equilibrium characteristics inherent in pedestrian route choice behavior. Our findings suggest that despite the inherent heterogeneity and stochastic nature of individual behaviors, pedestrian route choice overall operates in a dynamic equilibrium state. These insights offer valuable implications for the design of facilities in transport hubs and crowd management strategies in social activities, potentially leading to more effective and organized public spaces.