Observed Customer Seating and Standing Behaviours and Seat Preferences Onboard Subway Cars in New York City

Abstract

Using an observational sampling methodology, this study explores seat occupancy patterns found in New York City subway cars under non-crowded conditions based on special attributes of otherwise highly homogenous plastic bench seats. Onboard seating patterns, measured as relative seat occupancy probabilities, are explained in terms of interactions between railcar design, layout, customer preferences, and resulting behaviours. Prior research has generally focused on passengers distribution between cars within long trains, or desirability of attributes common to all seats, rather than passengers seating patterns within a single car. Results, based on seating- and standing-room occupancy statistics, show customers have a clear preference for seats adjacent to doors, no real preference for seats adjacent to support stanchions, and disdain for bench spots between two other seats. On cars featuring transverse seating, customers prefer window seats, but have almost equal preference for backward- or forward-facing seats. No gender bias was detected amongst all seated passengers, but as load factor increased, men have higher probabilities of being standees compared to women. 90% seat utilization is only achieved at 120% load factor; furthermore, standing customers strongly prefer to crowd vestibule areas between doors (particularly in cars with symmetric door arrangements), and hold onto vertical poles. These findings are consistent with published anecdotes. Future cars should be designed with asymmetric doors, 2+2+2 partitioned longitudinal seats, and no stanchions or partitions near doorways. Further research should be conducted in commuter rail vehicles with suburban layouts, booth seating, and also other cities’ subways, to further understand customer seating preferences.