Mitigating crowded transportation terminals nearby mega-sports events

Hosting mega sports events in large cities worldwide surges the number of visitors. Congestion is observed at subway, bus, and train stations nearby the sports venues by the end of every competition. We propose two techniques for crowd-control around large sports events. We use Augmented Reality(AR) technology and hand gestures detecting wearable devices for two purposes. First, post-event congestion peak avoidance at the nearest station by passengers' arrival rate reduction. Attraction spots, where fans can enjoy secondary activities such as remote-sightseeing using VR, can be established in arbitrary locations around the venue. This is to postpone some fans' arrival at the nearest station and to encourage walking towards another nearby one. Second, accelerating the inside-station trip to increase passengers' departure rate. Fans moving in groups can use the wearable device and the coupled smartphone application for intra-station navigation and quick way-finding while avoiding getting separated by the crowds. We also present two agent-based simulations to indicate the efficacy of both techniques in mitigating stations overcrowding. The evaluation shows that providing attraction spots reduced fans' arrival at the nearest station to the event and the arrival rates at all stations. Moreover, the navigation of large-size groups was enhanced in crowded stations.