A microsimulation model of travel behaviour for use in urban transport corridor analysis

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, many planning initiatives have focused on the relationship between land use and travel behav-iour, with the aim of reducing car use and encouraging forms of more ‘sustainable transport’, together with the application of Travel Demand Management (TDM) principles. Travel behaviour is often highly complex and, similarly, TDM measures and the relationship between land use and travel behaviour are also multifaceted, often requiring ‘micro-level’ analysis and decision-making for successful implementation. Activity-based travel de-mand microsimulation models are based on the notion that travel is a derived demand from the need to pursue activities that are scattered in time and space. They focus on the analysis of the individual’s travel behaviour re-sulting from his/her participation in a sequence of activities, and possibly influenced by interactions with other people (such as fellow members of a household). Microsimulation models are disaggregate and dynamic in na-ture, offering effective and practical tools for the representation of complex travel behaviour, and are thought to be the most suitable models for such purposes. This paper describes the development of a microsimulation model of household travel, responsive to alternative transport networks, land use patterns and densities, and socio-economic characteristics of individuals. The model or is being tailored for use in multimodal urban transport corridors, with the study area focusing on the north-west metropolitan corridor of Adelaide in South Australia. The primary objective of the model is to be able to provide estimates of the likely usage of different travel modes, with an emphasis on including features which can determine the likely usage of public transport and non-motorised modes, in particular where the incorporation of alternative land use patterns supportive of such modes is envisaged. The model system or is being developed in the object-oriented software design paradigm. Four sub-models – socio-demographic, land use, activity-travel simulator, and network – are formulated into the model system. All of the sub-models are loosely connected with each other and can be used independently. The socio-demographic model forecasts the evolution of individuals and households over time from an assumed base year. The land use model simulates future land use development based on current land use and possible changes in land use policy. The network model estimates travel movements (including public transport) in corridor networks. The activity-travel simulator, which is the key component of the model system, generates activity/travel patterns and forecasts travel demand, as well as scheduling activity and travel demonstrated by individuals and households in time and space. The activity-travel simulator is based on the concept of decomposition of a daily activity/travel pattern into seg-ments to which certain aspects of observed activity/travel behaviour are matched. The activity/travel pattern can be deconstructed into various segments, in terms of activity type, activity duration, activity location, and mode choice and transition. Initially, the activity-travel simulator assigns a 24-hour activity/travel pattern for each member of a household by using a set of representative activity/travel patterns

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 2 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.