Skipping the Crowds: Cognitive Impact of Real-Time On-Board Crowding Information in Mass Transit Smartphone Mobility Apps

Abstract

Dense mass transit systems are prone to suboptimal exploitation of their infrastructure when passenger congestion concentrates on specific routes, leaving alternative routes underused. This imbalance may arise from passengers relying on a cognitive heuristic to find the fastest path without considering other parameters, partly for lack of information. Providing on-board crowding information via smartphone mobility apps before boarding could increase their willingness-to-wait for a less crowded route. An online experimental paradigm was designed to investigate how individuals evaluate different combinations of crowding levels, waiting times, and in-vehicle times when selecting routes for non-time-sensitive trips in the Parisian mass transit which is unfamiliar to them. We aimed to simulate the dynamic nature of passengers' decision-making processes and provide insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying real-world decisions. Results indicate that the participants showed greater willingness-to-wait for less crowded alternatives, especially when the default route was highly crowded, and the alternative route lightly crowded. Short waiting times and long in-vehicle times also increased willingness-to-wait. Thus, our findings confirm that the availability of crowding information in smartphone mobility apps during route planning can effectively regulate passenger flow in mass transit. This lever lowers passengers’ reliance on a cognitive heuristic to find the fastest route, guiding them towards less crowded alternatives.

Keywords: Passenger flow regulation, willingness-to-wait, route selection, travel time, passenger comfort