Influence of Group Size and Group Composition on the Adhered Distance Headway

Research into the influence of groups on pedestrian flow dynamics has been limited. Previous research found that group size influences the walking velocity of pedestrians within the group and as such the capacity the pedestrian infrastructure. This paper's aim is to provide quantitative insights into the influence of group size and composition of demographic characteristics on the distance headway pedestrians adhere to with respect to respectively other groups and other individuals within their own group, during bi-directional crowd movements. It is concluded that the composition of age and genders within a group, as well as the total size of the group influences also the distance headway pedestrians adhere during large crowd movements. As such, the presence of groups changes the dynamics of the crowd movements. This can result in a decrease of the capacity of the infrastructure.