On Access Control in Cabin-Based Transport Systems

TL;DR

This paper models an automated access control system for cabin-based transport, deriving stochastic properties and stability thresholds using queuing theory, highlighting trade-offs between waiting times and station stability.

Contribution

It introduces a queuing theory-based analytical framework for access control in cabin transport systems, accounting for general passenger arrival distributions.

Findings

Significant waiting time reduction requires sacrificing stability at preceding stations.

Derived expressions for queue length, waiting time, and capacity.

Identified stability thresholds for different stations.

Abstract

We analyze a boarding solution for a transport system in which the number of passengers allowed to enter a transport cabin is automatically controlled. Expressions charac- terizing the stochastic properties of the passenger queue length, waiting time, and cabin capacity are derived using queuing theory for a transport line with deterministic arrivals of cabins and Poisson arrivals of passengers. Expected cabin capacity and stability threshold for each station are derived for a general passenger arrival distribution. Results show that a significant reduction of the waiting time at a given station is only possible at the cost of making the stability of one of the preceding stations worse than that of the given station. Experimental studies with real passenger arrivals are needed to draw firm conclusions.