Proposing standard terminology for the modelling and simulation of passenger information services: Bringing together existing research to create a common language for coordinating future work

Abstract

As communication technologies permeate the operation and use of transport systems, so do opportunities to optimize the beneficial effects of such technologies. In particular, great interest is growing in how passenger information services (PIS) can improve passenger experiences and how passenger reactions to PIS affects system performance. In response, transport modelers have developed models of these systems to study feedback loops between PIS, passenger behavior, and system performance. Concurrently, behavioral researchers have begun to quantify passenger behavior in response to PIS. However, modelers and behavioral researchers rarely work together to produce models whose behavioral components are directly based upon observed data – potentially limiting the models’ ability to accurately forecast actual passenger behavior. Even more rarely have such models and their results been translated into practical tools and actionable information for practitioners – which means even if the models prove accurate, they have limited practical use. A review of the literature on modeling, simulating, and studying passenger behavior under the influence of passenger information systems reveals that one barrier to effective cooperation and communication between modelers and behavioral researchers and in turn between academia and practitioners, is a lack of a common language. In response, this paper proposes a linguistic framework - in other words, a set of specialized, specific terms - for describing passenger information systems and passenger behavior in the context of passenger information. The proposed terminology is intended to enable precise communication between transport modelers, transport behavior researchers, and practitioners who design and operate passenger information systems.