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Mega-events, characterized by their international scope and massive influx of spectators, present significant logistical challenges, particularly when it comes to planning spectator transport. The complexity of managing the movement of spectators at these major gatherings calls for innovative and efficient solutions.
The central aim of this project is to create a straightforward platform, offering an open-access alternative for planning spectator transport at mega-events. A preliminary benchmark has shown that there is effectively no such platform on the market.
In order to create this tool, the Excel file used by Citec's engineers to plan spectator shuttles is analyzed and its functioning is examined. It computes values such as the space required for shuttles, the passenger waiting area and the number of platforms needed. The input data required for its use is identified, to assess the ease with which it can be obtained. This step sheds light on how a more accessible tool can be developed, simplifying the input data while trying to achieve the same results.
Following this in-depth understanding, a new website is developed for spectator transport planning. This tool computes the same output as the given Excel file but requires simpler input data from the user. The main advantages of the website are its accessibility and the fact that it provides result margins to give the user a general idea of the values. Its limitations lie in the inflexibility of the numerical assumptions made by the tool. In fact, the reliability of the website's results is tested on transport planning for the 2023 Ryder Cup. The observed result margins deviate by an average of 19% from the results using the Excel file, and by an average of 16% from the actual values used during the event.
However, it is concluded that the tool meets its main objective. Indeed, it can be used freely by a non-transport planning audience at a preliminary stage of the event planning. It provides the user with information on the range of expected results, enabling him or her to choose where to place passenger waiting areas and how to plan the drop-off/pick-up and staging areas. The user can then consult transport planning experts for more specific results because the tool developed as part of this project is not meant to replace the expertise of specialists in the field.