Analysis of conflict points between pedestrians at BRT stations to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases

Abstract

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a bus-based public transport system that increase the effectiveness of public transportation through dedicated lanes with busways and independent stations. However, the low capacity at the stations and the high demand of the system increases the respiratory diseases risk caused by the interaction between pedestrians. This article proposes to make the main access point an entrance only and the access point at the opposite end of the platform an exit only, allowing one-way walking paths. This research is focused on the reduction of conflict points between pedestrians generated by walking flows in opposite directions. A BRT station located in the city of Lima was used as a case study for the investigation. It was identified for the peak hour that the area with the highest pedestrian interaction occurs in the station platform and boarding areas. The efficiency of the proposal is validated by using the Viswalk software. The results obtained show that the conflict points decreased by 68.5% and the pedestrian density by 45%. From that perspective, the pedestrian flows were optimized, and the risk of respiratory diseases was reduced.