Comparison of MATSim and EMME/2 on Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Network, Canada

Abstract

The agent-based microsimulation modeling technique for transportation planning is rapidly developing, is being applied in practice, and is attracting considerable attention. Along with the conventional four-step modeling technique, MATSim and EMME/2 represent two genres of traffic assignment. They are built on different theoretical bases: dynamic stochastic stationary state assignment and static deterministic user equilibrium assignment, respectively. A study was done of the models' application with data from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area network in Canada. Given the actual demand data, the models' assignment results are compared and validated on the basis of four indicators of the road network—travel time, travel distance, link volume, and link speed—to reflect both spatial and temporal variation of the traffic flow pattern. The comparison results show that numerical outputs produced by MATSim are not only compatible with those by EMME/2 but are also more realistic from a temporal point of view. The agent-based microsimulation model can be an appropriate alternative to the conventional model for transportation planning. Therefore, agent-based microsimulation models reflect a promising direction of next-generation transportation planning models.

The Multi-Agent Transport Simulation MATSim

“…The work of Gao et al (2010) found that travel time, travel distance, link ows and speeds were reasonably comparable, in fact more plausible, than those achieved through the EMME assignment. Conversely, work on transit assignment, rst done by Kucirek (2012) and then by Weiss et al (2014), found limitations associated with predicting line boarding gures; these were based on di erent transit technologies and agencies and utilized different fare structures, suggesting that further work to calibrate the multimodal assignment model is required.…”

“…Conversion process details can be found in Gao et al (2010). Turning restrictions were handled by adapting the network structure, resulting in a network containing 9 474 nodes and 18 570 links (Figure 91.1(b)).…”

Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation of Connected Corridors—Merits Evaluation and Future Steps

“…In this regard, Gao et al, [15] compared agent-based micro-simulation modeling and conventional fourstep modeling technique using MATSim and EMME/2 as the representatives of these approaches. They applied Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area network and actual demand data to investigate four indicators of the road network, namely travel time, travel distance, link volume, and link speed.…”

Agent based modelling and energy planning – Utilization of MATSim for transport energy demand modelling

“…In the case of personal EV-based mobility, the aggregated behaviour is visible as an additional electricity demand and for this reason, along with the flexibility to include the EV-related specifics, MATSIM was selected as an appropriate tool for this paper. The MATSIM simulation architecture [17] makes it particularly suitable for policy-making issues, and it has been successfully used in tasks such as assessing the emission impact due to household travelling [25] optimizing taxi service [26], determining policies on traffic planning [27], [28] etc. .…”