{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T06:05:17Z","timestamp":1790661917259,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,8]],"date-time":"2023-06-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1686182400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100018948","name":"Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100018948","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>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 \u201cExtendSim\u201d. 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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0286460","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,8]],"date-time":"2023-06-08T17:43:12Z","timestamp":1686246192000},"page":"e0286460","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Transport of pilgrims during Hajj: Evidence from a discrete event simulation study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4927-6959","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Almoaid","family":"Owaidah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Doina","family":"Olaru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammed","family":"Bennamoun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1557-4907","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ferdous","family":"Sohel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nazim","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0286460.ref001","volume-title":"Public health for mass gatherings: key considerations","year":"2015"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0286460.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.21608\/jur.2006.94429","article-title":"Developing a web-based GIS for hajj traffic plan (hajjgis.net)","volume":"6","author":"N. Koshak","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of Urban Research."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref003","first-page":"1","article-title":"A stochastic simulation model for the design of a shuttle bus system to transport pilgrims in hajj.","author":"M Seliaman","year":"2013","journal-title":"ResearchGate, Berlin."},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0286460.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7013","DOI":"10.1007\/s13369-014-1231-3","article-title":"Analytical and computer modelling of transportation systems for traffic bottleneck resolution: a hajj case study","volume":"39","author":"O Tayan","year":"2014","journal-title":"Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref005","first-page":"2019","volume-title":"IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data); 2019 Dec 9\u201312; Los Angeles, CA,","author":"E Felemban","year":"2019"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0286460.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.4197\/Eng.16-2.5","article-title":"A simulation study of the shuttle-bus pilgrim transportation system between the holy sites for the 1422H hajj season","volume":"16","author":"S Al-Sabban","year":"2005","journal-title":"Journal of King Abdulaziz University-Engineering Sciences"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0286460.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.18564\/jasss.3997","article-title":"Review of modelling and simulating crowds at mass gathering events: hajj as a case study","volume":"22","author":"A Owaidah","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-89554-9_6","volume-title":"(eds) IoT for Sustainable Smart Cities and Society","author":"E Felemban","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref009","first-page":"273","volume-title":"International Conference of Design, User Experience, and Usability","author":"A Geabel","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref010","first-page":"168","volume-title":"In: The 19th scientific bulletin of Hajj, Umrah and Madinah visit; 2019 Mar 6\u20137; Makkah Almukarramah, Saudi Arabia.","author":"M Amer","year":"2019"},{"issue":"208","key":"pone.0286460.ref011","first-page":"583","volume":"8","author":"EA Felemban","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref012","volume-title":"In: 2020 international conference on computing and information technology (ICCIT-1441); 2020 Sep 9\u201310","author":"HJ Alshalani","year":"2020"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref013","first-page":"1","article-title":"Sustainable transport systems for hajj","author":"A Shihatah","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Al-Azhar University Engineering Sector (JAUES)"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref014","volume-title":"In: 2019 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data); 2019 Dec 9\u201312","author":"E Felemban","year":"2019"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref015","first-page":"108","volume-title":"In: 15 Scientific Symposium for the Research of Hajj, Umrah and Madina visit; 2015 May 27\u201328","author":"R. Al-Yagubi","year":"2015"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref016","volume-title":"The 2015 ACM international joint conference; 2015 Sep 7\u201311","author":"S Jamil","year":"2015"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref017","volume-title":"In: 14th international conference on informatics in control, automation and robotics; 2017 Jul 26\u201328","author":"J Fourati","year":"2017"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref018","unstructured":"Kassens-Noor E. Planning for peak demands in transport systems\u2013an agenda for research. In: selected proceedings of the 12th world conference on transport research. Lisbon: World Conference on Transport Research Society; Lisbon, Portugal. 2010. p. 1\u201319."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref019","first-page":"127","article-title":"Managing the Olympics. Palgrave Macmillan, London","author":"E. Kassens-Noor","year":"2013","journal-title":"Managing transport during the Olympics"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kassens-Noor E. Olympic Cities. Routledge; 2016 (A). Olympic Transport. p. 273\u2013286. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4324\/9781315735887-23","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315735887-23"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0286460.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1080\/10630732.2016.1157949","article-title":"Olympic technologies: Tokyo 2020 and beyond: the urban technology metropolis","volume":"25","author":"E Kassens-Noor","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Urban Technology"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0286460.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.17645\/up.v1i1.532","article-title":"From ephemeral planning to permanent urbanism: an urban planning theory of mega-events.","volume":"1","author":"E. Kassens-Noor","year":"2016","journal-title":"Urban Planning"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0286460.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1080\/01441647.2011.601352","article-title":"Synthesis of transport planning approaches for the world\u2019s largest events.","volume":"32","author":"G Currie","year":"2012","journal-title":"Transport Reviews."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref024","first-page":"209","article-title":"Application of failure mode effect and critical analysis (FMECA) to the transportation system \u201cdaif\u201d in holy places.","author":"M Miralam","year":"2019","journal-title":"In: The Scientific Bulletin of the 19th Forum for the Research of Hajj, Umrah and Madinah Visit; 2019 Mar 6\u20137; Almadina Almunawwarah, Saudi Arabia."},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0286460.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"496","DOI":"10.3390\/info12120496","article-title":"Optimization of the MASHAER shuttle-bus service in Hajj: Arafat-Muzdalifah Case Study.","volume":"12","author":"O Hussain","year":"2021","journal-title":"Information."},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0286460.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.4197\/Eng.13-2.14","article-title":"Macroscopic modeling and simulation of hajj vehicular traffic during ifadha from arafa","volume":"13","author":"S. AI-Gadhi","year":"2001","journal-title":"Journal of King Abdulaziz University-Engineering Sciences"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0286460.ref027","first-page":"137","article-title":"Suggestions and solutions for crowded sites in the holy environs \u201cArafat area\".","volume":"11","author":"M Edrees","year":"2017","journal-title":"King Abdulaziz University Journal: Environmental Design Sciences."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref028","first-page":"1","article-title":"Towards a sustainable transportation system for the Holy City of Makkah: coping with harsh topography, dense urban area and large-scale religious events.","author":"A Shalaby","year":"2013","journal-title":"In: the 17th International Road Federation (IRF) World Meeting and Exhibition"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref029","article-title":"Planning a transport system for Hajj","author":"M. Hanrahan","journal-title":"In: Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management (AITPM) National Conference, 2015; Brisbane, Queensland, Australia."},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0286460.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.3141\/2350-13","article-title":"Users\u2019 evaluation of rail systems in mass events: case study in mecca, Saudi Arabia","volume":"2350","author":"I Kaysi","year":"2013","journal-title":"Transportation Research Record"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref031","first-page":"253","author":"I Kaysi","year":"2012","journal-title":"Rapid transit service in the unique context of holy Makkah: assessing the first year of operation during the 2010 pilgrimage season"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0286460.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.1287\/inte.2015.0833","article-title":"Improving pilgrim safety during the Hajj: an analytical and operational research approach.","volume":"46","author":"K Haase","year":"2016","journal-title":"Interfaces."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Imam A, Alamoudi M. Mina: the city of tents origination and development. In9\u00b0 Congresso Citt\u00e0 e Territorio Virtuale, Roma, 2, 3 e 4 ottobre 2013 2013. p.1351-1365. Available from: https:\/\/upcommons.upc.edu\/handle\/2099\/16459","DOI":"10.5821\/ctv.8014"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref034","author":"Hajj works report 2019 (1440 H)","year":"2019","journal-title":"Makkah Almukarramah: Department of Transport at Ministry of Hajj"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0286460.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1260\/2046-0430.1.4.365","article-title":"An intelligent computational real-time virtual environment model for efficient crowd management","volume":"1","author":"R. Reffat","year":"2012","journal-title":"International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref036","volume-title":"Integrating RFID and GIS to support urban transportation management and planning of Hajj","author":"N Koshak","year":"2013"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0286460.ref037","first-page":"136","article-title":"Discrete-event simulation","volume":"4","author":"P. Sharma","year":"2015","journal-title":"International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research."},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0286460.ref038","first-page":"55","article-title":"A proposed model for optimizing the flow of pilgrims between Holy sites during Hajj using traffic congestion control","volume":"10","author":"O. Tayan","year":"2010","journal-title":"The International Journal of Engineering and Technology"},{"issue":"33","key":"pone.0286460.ref039","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"390","DOI":"10.19044\/esj.2017.v13n33p390","article-title":"Implementation of a simulation model for optimizing the traffic flow from Arafat to Muzdalifah","volume":"13","author":"A. Jamjoom","year":"2017","journal-title":"European Scientific Journal, ESJ."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref040","article-title":"Toward a combined GIS-ABM approach for simulation of pilgrims\u2019 movement during Hajj days in Mekkah.","author":"R Yaagoubi","year":"2018","journal-title":"In: International conference on modern intelligent systems concepts; Rabat, Morocco."},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0286460.ref041","first-page":"71","article-title":"The role of agent-based modelling in the design of management decision processes","volume":"16","author":"E. Serova","year":"2013","journal-title":"Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref042","first-page":"28","article-title":"Planning for safety: the case of the symbolic stoning of the devil in hajj","author":"K. Al-Kodmany","year":"2011","journal-title":"Journal of Architectural and Planning Research"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref043","unstructured":"Al-Nabulsi H. The crowd psychology of the Hajj. PhD Thesis. University of Sussex. 2015. Available from: http:\/\/sro.sussex.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/55257\/"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref044","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ssci.2018.04.021","article-title":"Risk management: The effect of FIST on perceived safety in crowded large space buildings","author":"M Alkhadim","year":"2018","journal-title":"Safety Science"},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref045","unstructured":"Makkah region development authority. https:\/\/www.mrda.gov.sa\/video_gallery.php"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0286460.ref046","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.3390\/socsci6020036","article-title":"Reimagining the hajj","volume":"6","author":"R. Bianchi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Social Sciences."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref047","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"79424","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2021.3083265","article-title":"Modelling mass crowd using discrete event simulation: a case study of integrated Tawaf and Sayee rituals during Hajj.","author":"A Owaidah","year":"2021","journal-title":"IEEE Access."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref048","unstructured":"Extendsim User Reference. Accessed on 18-03\/2020. https:\/\/extendsim.com\/documentation."},{"key":"pone.0286460.ref049","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1201\/b14763","volume-title":"Business process modelling, simulation and design.","author":"M Laguna","year":"2013"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0286460.ref050","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.11114\/ijsss.v3i4.870","article-title":"List of parameters influencing the pedestrian movement and pedestrian database","volume":"3","author":"MH Dridi","year":"2015","journal-title":"International Journal of Social Science Studies"}],"container-title":["PLOS ONE"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0286460","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,8]],"date-time":"2023-06-08T17:44:03Z","timestamp":1686246243000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0286460"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Ahmed Mancy","family":"Mosa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,8]]},"references-count":50,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,8]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0286460","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,8]]}}}