Transportation Anslysis Simulation System
TRANSIMS version 3.1 is an integrated set of analytical and simulation models and supporting databases. The system is designed to create a virtual metropolitan region with representation of each of the regions individuals, their activities and the transportation infrastructure they use. TRANSIMS puts into practice a new, disaggregate approach to travel demand modeling using agent-based micro-simulation technology. TRANSIMS methodology creates a virtual metropolitan region with representation of the transportation infrastructure and the population, at the level of households and individual travelers. Trips a planned to satisfy the populations activity pattems at the individual traveler level. TRANSIMS then simulates the movement of travelers and vehicles across the transportation network using multiple modes, including car, transit, bike and walk, on a second-by-second basis. Metropolitan planners must plan growth of their cities according to the stringent transportation system planning requirements of the Interniodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and other similar laws and regulations. These require each state and its metropotitan regions to work together to develop short and long term transportation improvement plans. The plans must (1) estimate the future transportation needs for travelers and goods movements, (2) evaluate ways to manage and reduce congestion, (3) examine the effectiveness of building new roads and transit systems, and (4) limit the environmental impact of the various strategies. The needed consistent and accurate transportation improvement plans require an analytical capability that properly accounts for travel demand, human behavior, traffic and transit operations, major investments, and environmental effects. Other existing planning tools use aggregated information and representative behavior to predict average response and average use of transportation facilities. They do not account for individual traveler response to the dynamic transportation environment. In contrast, TRANSIMS provides disaggregated information that more explicitly represents the complex nature of humans interacting with the transportation system. It first generates a synthetic population that represents individuals and their households in the metropolitan region in a statistically valid way. The demographic makeup and spatial distribution of this synthetic population is derived from census data so that it matches that of the regions real population. From survey data, a model is built of household and individual activities that may occur at home, in the workplace, school or shopping centers, for example. Trip plans including departure times, travel modes, and specific routes are created for each individual to get to his or her daily activities. TRANSIMS then simulates the movement of millions of individuals, following their trip plans throughout the transportation network, including their use of vehicles such as cars or buses, on a second-by-second basis. The virtual travel in TRANSIMS mimics the traveling and driving behavior of real people in the metropolitan region. The interactions of individual vehicles produce realistic traffic dynamics from which analysts can judge to performance of the transportation sysime and estimate vehicle emissions. Los Alamos, in cooperation with the Department of Transportation, Federal HIghway Administration and the local Metropolitan Planning Offices, has done TRANSIMS micro-simulations of auto traffic patterns in these two urban areas and completed associated scenario-based studies.
- Short Name / Acronym:
- TRANSIMSV3.1.1; 001444MLTPL00
- Version:
- 00
- Programming Language(s):
- Medium: X; OS: Red Hat Linux 8.0; Compatibility: Multiplatform
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- U.S. DOT, Federal Highway Admin.
- Contributing Organization:
- CL. Barrett, R. Beckman, K.P. Berkbigler, K. Bisset, 8W. Bush, S. J. Eubank, D.A Kubicek, MV. Marathe, D.J. Roberts, P.R. Romero, J.P. Smith, P. Stretz, M.D Williams
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 1230895
- Country of Origin:
- United States
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