Page 227 - Proceeding of Atrans Young Researcher's Forum 2019_Neat

“Transportation for A Better Life:
Smart Mobility for Now and Then”

23 August 2019, Bangkok, Thailand

The time stamps are plotted against its “Bewang”. This is the most important maneuver
corresponding distance (see Fig. 5). The trendline since it is associated with movement. During
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generated appeared linear with R =0.9856; implying Bewang, the rope holders can exert maximum force
a strong relationship between time and distance. The for movement. Lastly is the “Otso”. This is
reciprocal of the slope of the curve represents the performed when the rope becomes entangled and
average speed of the entire procession, generating needed to be straightened. They perform this by
0.33 kph. putting the rope over their heads and attempt to
The levels of heterogeneity amongst the untangle the rope from there.
participants are presented in Fig. 6: (1) the pushers The last group of people which makes up
(green squares), (2) rope holders (red triangles), and most of the procession are the ordinary devotees.
(3) the ordinary devotees (blue circles). These are the participants who are neither the
The pushers are the people intended to pushers nor the rope holders. Their only intention is
initiate movement on the Andas. On the event the the main goal which is to get in touch with the image
Andas is on a full stop, a path is cleared for them to carried by the Andas. Unlike both pushers and rope
run over as a group and initiate movement to the holders whose direction is always forward, the
parade by applying forward thrust to the main body direction of this group’s movement is always
of the Andas. This is often done intermittently until heading towards the Andas. Devotees can often get
the initiation of movement becomes successful, aggressive in attempting to do so. Chaotic behavior
which is highly related to the density and number of such as jumping out and stepping on people’s
people pushing. Upon movement, the pushers shoulders and heads were observed to be a normal
continue to push until the Andas goes to its next stop. occurrence during the procession. The aggressive
nature of the devotees is what often leads to risks and
hazards.

4.2 Estimation Method
Fig. 7 shows the pedestrian density with respect
to their distance from the Andas. Behind the Andas,
the density decreases with increasing distance. It can
be observed that the maximum densities of people
are located closest to the Andas. This is the
manifestation of the main intention of the
participants defined beforehand. The will to touch
the image alongside the designated pushing behavior
to move forward promotes huge attraction towards
Fig. 6 Graphical representations of the kinds of the Andas.
participants during the Traslacion based on their Based on the data, the observed maximum and
st
intentions (1 to last: Andas moving, Andas stops, minimum densities were approximately 12.5
cleared pathway for pushers, and push formation) ped/sq.m. and 0.75 ped/sq.m., respectively. The
maximum density observed was significantly higher
The rope holders are the people intended to compared to what was established by Dr.
hold the two ropes attached to the front of the Andas. Oberhagemann (2012) in his study on crowd
The major purpose of this group is to lead the densities at major public events. According to him, a
Andas’s direction. They are needed to pull the Andas density of five ped/sq.m. is maximum for the space
along the designated route to avoid unnecessary between people to allow for comfortable movement.
detours. Unlike the pushers however, the movement Beyond this, at approximately six to eight ped/sq.m.,
of the pedestrians holding the rope were very much movement is still possible, but the maneuver would
noticeable due to their very unpredictable movement require the individual to exert a significant amount
leading to intense swaying motions. Rope holders of force to counter the accumulated push force
also have three maneuvers that corresponds to the generated by the other individuals who also try to
proper way of handling the rope. The first one is the move. However, it should be noted that the study
“Balikat” or the placing of the ropes over their cited considered the dimensions of a typical German
shoulders. This maneuver is done when the holders man; which are larger built compared to their Asian
decide to rest their arms. The second one is the counterparts due to their Caucasian descent.

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