Application of cognitive work analysis to explore passenger behaviour change through provision of information to help relieve train overcrowding

It is unrealistic to expect rail passengers to experience a comfortable journey while travelling in crowded trains. Given that passenger behaviour is one of the contributing factors of crowding, understanding and promoting changes in their behaviour would help moderate overcrowding. Therefore, this study aims to develop strategies to encourage passenger behaviour change. Focusing particularly on the provision of train occupancy information, Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) is applied to gain a systematic understanding about constraints of the behaviour in the rail system environment. Participant observations, staff interview, and online survey data were used to develop an Abstraction Hierarchy (AH), which was validated with two rail subject-matter experts. The output enhance our understanding about passenger behaviour while travelling in crowded conditions, and provide insights about how rail service providers could better assist passengers’ decision making to inform real behaviour change. The AH provides the foundation for how to reduce crowding by supporting passengers’ decision making so they can select less crowded trains or carriages