Why do they travel backwards? Understanding passenger travel behaviour in congested urban public transport systems

Authors

• Chao Yu
• Haiying Li
• Ziyulong Wang
• Wei Ma
• Rob M.P. Goverde
• Oded Cats

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2025

Subject Area

place - urban, mode - subway/metro, ridership - behaviour, ridership - perceptions, ridership - forecasting, ridership - demand, operations - crowding, technology - passenger information

Keywords

Crowding, Travelling backwards, Metro systems, Revealed preference, Discrete choice model, Smart card data

Abstract

Widespread congestion in metro systems often hinders passengers from boarding the first arriving train, making them compelled to adopt an alternative route, some of which involve travelling backwards. While this travel strategy has direct consequences for forecasting passenger flow distribution in congested networks, little is known about the travelling backwards phenomenon and why people adopt this travelling behaviour. The aim of this study is to understand passengers’ perception of time in various segments considering travelling backwards. To achieve this, we develop a route choice model using revealed preference data from smart card records. We find that passengers exhibit a greater aversion to waiting time and onboard time while travelling backwards. Specifically, passengers perceive each minute spent waiting on the turn-back stations’ platform as equivalent to 1.97 min on the origin platform. Similarly, each minute spent onboard the backwards train is perceived as equivalent to 1.24 min on the forwards train. Ignoring this difference in perception would result in the underestimation of the expected social benefits of demand management policies. Finally, we assess the potential benefits of travelling backwards under various passenger flow conditions, offering valuable policy insights regarding whether and how this behaviour should be regulated or promoted.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Transportation Research Part A Home Page:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564

Recommended Citation

Yu, C., Li, H., Wang, Z., Ma, W., Goverde, R. M., & Cats, O. (2025). Why do they travel backwards? Understanding passenger travel behaviour in congested urban public transport systems. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 104630.