Our team has a wealth of experience and practical application of a wide breadth of modelling tools. The software ranges from large scale macro/strategic highway assessment to micro-simulation and localised network/junction assessment.
A brief summary of the broad levels of detail and scale within transport modelling is provided below:
Macro-level or Strategic transport models such as Saturn, PTV Visum and Aimsun are trip demand models which can be used to assess traffic in large scale networks. They can consider forecast traffic demand on the road network into the future. These types of models tend to be cruder in terms of the level of detail contained within them. They are particularly effective at assessing the impact of change in either the transport network, land-use planning assumptions or both.
Typically, these types of models are informed by forecasts of predicted population growth, land use and employment change. They are used to support the Local Plan planning process and to inform key investment decisions. The outputs of these types of models are typically forecast traffic flows on the network in the form of origin/destination matrices. They can be used to inform more detailed network assessment as set out below.
Microscopic simulation models such as PTV Vissim, Paramics and Aimsun provide a detailed simulation of individual vehicles, with their acceleration, deceleration, and precise movements through a defined network. These networks can be of a large scale but tend to be more effective when modelling a more confined area or corridor. Due to the modelling of individual vehicles, micro-simulation models can represent dynamic network behaviours such as queues, interaction with other junctions and the impact of activities such as parking or bus stops.
Local network/junction models such as Linsig, Junctions Arcady and Picady can assess the operation of standalone junctions or small groups of junctions on the network. This level of modelling focuses in detail on the operational capacity of a junction approach or ‘stoplines’ at a signalised junction. They can be used both as an assessment tool but also as a design tool to optimise the geometric layout of a junction and/or the traffic signal operation.
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