Spatial Analysis of Subway Ridership: Rainfall and Ridership

Abstract

In-vehicle congestion of the urban railway system is the most important indicator to reflect the operation state of the urban railway. To provide the good service quality of urban railway, the crowdedness of the urban railway should be managed appropriately. The weather is one of the critical factors for the crowdedness. That is because even though the crowdedness of the urban railway is the same, passengers feel more uncomfortable in rainy weather condition. Indeed if specific sections and stations suddenly are concentrated excessive demand, it will lead far more serious problem. Therefore, this study analysis the relationship between the number of urban railway passenger and rainfall intensity in Seoul metropolitan subway system and then conducts the spatial analysis to deduct passenger demand patterns. This study is expected to be useful base study in order to manage the congestion at the urban railway station effectively by considering the different rainfall intensity.