Queue area in the context of "Queuing theory"

Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting time can be predicted. Queueing theory is generally considered a branch of operations research because the results are often used when making business decisions about the resources needed to provide a service.

Queueing theory has its origins in research by Agner Krarup Erlang, who created models to describe the system of incoming calls at the Copenhagen Telephone Exchange Company. These ideas were seminal to the field of teletraffic engineering and have since seen applications in telecommunications, traffic engineering, computing, project management, and particularly industrial engineering, where they are applied in the design of factories, shops, offices, and hospitals.

Between 14 and 19 September 2022, a queue of mourners waited to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II while she lay in state at Westminster Hall in London, England. Elizabeth II had died on 8 September, and had previously lain in rest in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh from 12 to 13 September. On official signs the queue was named "lying-in-state queue" and in contemporary media coverage it was simply called "The Queue".

Two separate queues were operated. The main queue had a length of up to 10 miles (16 km) and a maximum waiting time of more than 24 hours; this was the queue that attracted the more media attention. There was also a shorter accessible queue, for people with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

A taxicab stand (also called taxi rank, cab stand, taxi stand, cab rank, or hack stand) is a queue area on a street or on private property where taxicabs line up to wait for passengers.