Gatwick airport is experimenting with new ways to board passengers to ease the journey from gate to seat. A trial has begun with EasyJet to board people in “columns” – window seats, then middle seats, then aisle seats. This technique, nicknamed “WilMA”, has been used by other airlines, including Delta and United. How else could travel be sped up and smoothed out with a few simple tweaks?
Board airline passengers in alternate rows
This would enable passengers to put their bags in the overhead locker without preventing others from reaching their seats. “Carry-on luggage is the thing that takes the most time,” says Burak Boyaci, a lecturer at the Centre for Transport and Logistics at the University of Lancaster. A 2008 study in the Journal of Air Transport Management showed that a full plane with two doors and no carry-on luggage could be boarded in three minutes 18 seconds.
Ask passengers to stand on both sides of the escalator
Transport for London experimented with this at Holborn underground station in 2016. It found that the escalators could carry an average of 151 passengers per minute compared with 115 when travellers were permitted to stand on the right and walk on the left. However, this approach doesn’t work on short escalators. Hong Kong, Washington DC and Tokyo have also experimented.
Or better still, walk on both sides
“If you make everybody walk on an escalator, you could probably improve [capacity] even more,” Boyaci says.
Introduce more variable speed limits
Reducing the speed limit on a motorway helps to keep traffic flowing. “If you increase the density of traffic, after a certain point, the system starts to fall down,” Boyaci explains. Slowing the traffic enables a greater capacity because it reduces the safe distance needed between vehicles.
Install more diagonal pedestrian crossings
It can be frustrating to wait for two sets of lights at a crossroads. The diagonal crossings at Oxford Circus in London and Shibuya in Tokyo allow high volumes of pedestrians to cross simultaneously.
Help road users to reach green lights
A Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory system can inform motorists of the speed necessary to reach a traffic light on green. This not only helps to minimise delay but can also reduce fuel usage and emissions.
