Transport of pilgrims during Hajj: Evidence from a discrete event simulation study

Almoaid Owaidah; Doina Olaru; Mohammed Bennamoun; Ferdous Sohel; Nazim Khan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0286460

Back

Transport of pilgrims during Hajj: Evidence from a discrete event simulation study

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Transport of pilgrims during Hajj: Evidence from a discrete event simulation study

Almoaid Owaidah, Doina Olaru, Mohammed Bennamoun, Ferdous Sohel and Nazim Khan

PloS one, Vol.18(6), e0286460

2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286460

Files and links (1)

pdf

Published1.74 MBDownload View

CC BY V4.0, Open Access

Abstract

Bridges

Buses

Discrete event systems

Fleet management

Infrastructure

Olympic games

Pilgrimages

Pilgrims

Resource allocation

Scheduling

Simulation

Traffic congestion

Traffic police

Transportation management

Transportation planning

Windows (intervals)

Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage, is a large mass gathering event that involves performing rituals at several sites on specific days and times in a fixed order, thereby requiring transport of pilgrims between sites. For the past two decades, Hajj transport has relied on conventional and shuttle buses, train services, and pilgrims walking along pedestrian routes that link these sites. To ensure smooth and efficient transport during Hajj, specific groups of pilgrims are allocated with the cooperation of Hajj authorities to specific time windows, modes, and routes. However, the large number of pilgrims, delays and changes in bus schedules/timetables, and occasional lack of coordination between transport modes have often caused congestion or delays in pilgrim transfer between sites, with a cascading effect on transport management. This study focuses on modelling and simulating the transport of pilgrims between the sites using a discrete event simulation tool called “ExtendSim”. Three transport modules were validated, and different scenarios were developed. These scenarios consider changes in the percentages of pilgrims allocated to each transport mode and the scheduling of various modes. The results can aid authorities to make informed decisions regarding transport strategies for managing the transport infrastructure and fleets. The proposed solutions could be implemented with judicious allocation of resources, through pre-event planning and real-time monitoring during the event.

Details

Title: Transport of pilgrims during Hajj: Evidence from a discrete event simulation study
Authors/Creators: Almoaid Owaidah - The University of Western Australia
Doina Olaru - The University of Western Australia
Mohammed Bennamoun - The University of Western Australia
Ferdous Sohel - Murdoch University, Centre for Crop and Food Innovation
Nazim Khan
Publication Details: PloS one, Vol.18(6), e0286460
Publisher: Public Library of Science
Identifiers: 991005585958807891
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Information Technology
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Metrics

3 File views/ downloads

57 Record Views

5 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 4 Electrical Engineering, Electronics & Computer Science; 4.183 Transportation; 4.183.1813 Evacuation Modeling
Web Of Science research areas: Computer Science, Information Systems
ESI research areas: Engineering