Simulation Optimization of Taxi Travel System at Terminal T2 of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport: Enhancing Customer Satisfaction

With the increasing demand for seamless urban transportation, there is a growing need to establish a high-quality transportation service system that improves the efficiency of comprehensive passenger transportation hubs and provides superior passenger transport services. The taxi travel system at Terminal T2 of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, as a crucial component of transportation in a world-class hub city, has a significant impact on travelers’ satisfaction with transportation services. This study utilizes fieldwork and interviews to investigate the composition and current operational modes of the taxi travel system at Terminal T2. Using the simulation software FlexSim, we model and simulate the existing system, revealing the critical need for enhanced system performance, particularly in terms of stay time in queue and passenger output. Subsequently, we propose a performance optimization strategy, based on process analysis, involving the introduction of push-pull control to enhance supply and demand equilibrium, and the refinement of the boarding process to improve bottleneck capability. Our simulation experiments show that process enhancements, including a 5-second reduction in boarding activity and the implementation of push-pull control, can elevate the number of passengers served by 6.4% and reduce the average waiting time for passengers and taxis by 60 seconds and 110 seconds, respectively, thereby significantly heightening travel satisfactions.