TIME-STAMPING: A NEW WAY TO SURVEY PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC IN AIRPORT TERMINALS

The author has developed a new method for collecting pedestrian traffic flow data in airport terminals. The method was developed for the Airport Facilities Branch of the Canada Ministry of Transport. the problem was to find a better way of conducting terminal surveys. Traditional interview surveys and time and motion studies yield only fragmented bits of information. A total systems approach was required. The method consists of handing a card to each person as he or she enters the terminal either at the gate or at the door. The person is asked to carry the card during his or her stay in the terminal. At various check points the card is time-stamped. When the person leaves the terminal, the card is collected. The result is a complete trace of his or her movements in the terminal. A pilot study to test this technique was conducted at the Winnipeg International Airport on August 1 and 2 1975. The survey was successful: 10-55 cards were carried successfully through the terminal for 2 days, 96 cards were discarded and recovered, and about 150 cards were unaccounted for, which is a 98 percent return. The result is a complete travel pattern for each person. The data are so comprehensive that they will yield volumes, flow rates, occupancies, queuing length, service times, delays, levels of service, velocities, densities, flow patterns, conflicts, processing line balance, space use, and total travel effort. /Author/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/588/588-005.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=TIME-STAMPING%3A+A+NEW+WAY+TO+SURVEY+PEDESTRIAN+TRAFFIC+IN+AIRPORT+TERMINALS&author=J.+Braaksma&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Pedestrians. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Braaksma, John P
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 27-34
• Monograph Title: Airport and air transport planning
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 588
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data collection; Intermodal terminals; Level of service; Passenger traffic; Pedestrians; Queuing; Surveys; Time and motion studies; Time studies; Traffic flow; Travel patterns
• Identifier Terms: Winnipeg International Airport
• Old TRIS Terms: Terminal facilitation
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00159712
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309025540
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 20 1977 12:00AM