The 2022 FIFA World Cup, primarily hosted in Doha, Qatar, presented unique logistical challenges, especially during the group stage when up to four matches were scheduled daily. The close proximity of all locations exerted considerable strain on the city's transportation infrastructure, impacting not just match visitors but also those participating in parallel public events and festivals. A nuanced understanding of the full spectrum of transportation demand during the event was essential for developing transportation plans that prioritise accessibility, sustainability, and safety.
This paper presents a newly developed, scalable and comprehensive transportation demand simulation coupled with a passenger counting and inflow control mechanism, focused on metro systems to approximate and manage the transportation demand during large-scale events. The simulation is data-driven and highly adaptable, encompassing several categories of participants including tourists, the local workforces, and residents. Various large and publicly available data sets are employed in the simulation framework to construct an accurate representation of the local population, event venues, transport hubs, accommodation options, and tourist attractions. Furthermore, the simulation takes into account an array of variables such as the current load on transportation networks and event venues, and a mode selection based on choice models.
In operation, our simulation effectively identified bottlenecks leading to delays and potential overloads across metro system segments, tourist hotspots, and event locations in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Using these insights, we devised targeted mitigation strategies and integrated them back into the simulation model to assess their impact. The results offered valuable guidance for policymakers and transportation planners, contributing to the overall safety and efficiency of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup, primarily hosted in Doha, Qatar, presented unique logistical challenges, especially during the group stage when up to four matches were scheduled daily. The close proximity of all locations exerted considerable strain on the city's transportation infrastructure, impacting not just match visitors but also those participating in parallel public events and festivals. A nuanced understanding of the full spectrum of transportation demand during the event was essential for developing transportation plans that prioritise accessibility, sustainability, and safety.
This paper presents a newly developed, scalable and comprehensive transportation demand simulation coupled with a passenger counting and inflow control mechanism, focused on metro systems to approximate and manage the transportation demand during large-scale events. The simulation is data-driven and highly adaptable, encompassing several categories of participants including tourists, the local workforces, and residents. Various large and publicly available data sets are employed in the simulation framework to construct an accurate representation of the local population, event venues, transport hubs, accommodation options, and tourist attractions. Furthermore, the simulation takes into account an array of variables such as the current load on transportation networks and event venues, and a mode selection based on choice models.
In operation, our simulation effectively identified bottlenecks leading to delays and potential overloads across metro system segments, tourist hotspots, and event locations in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Using these insights, we devised targeted mitigation strategies and integrated them back into the simulation model to assess their impact. The results offered valuable guidance for policymakers and transportation planners, contributing to the overall safety and efficiency of the FIFA World Cup 2022.