Analysis on the Propagation Speed of Pedestrian Reaction: Velocity of Starting Wave and Stopping Wave

We investigate the reaction speed of a pedestrian to the predecessor in a queue which significantly affects the flow inside the queue. This is one of the most essential points for studying the dynamics of pedestrians. We have performed experiments of pedestrians’ walk in a queue on a flat road, upslope and downslope to measure the propagation speed of the starting wave and stopping wave. We have found that the propagation speed of stopping wave is faster than starting wave on a flat road, whereas the speed of stopping wave is slower than starting wave on the other cases. This reverse result has been studied by using stochastic cellular automaton model in which a perspective of predecessors and the inertial effect are introduced. Moreover, in the case of starting wave we can estimate the elapsed time of the last pedestrian in a queue to move after the leader starts by using mean field analysis.