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CATMUG (Chicago Area Travel Model User Group) was formed in 1997 as a forum to share and discuss travel model research and application efforts among the Chicago area transportation planning community. CATMUG is a multidisciplinary group of over 100 members including engineers, planners, professors, and researchers. CATMUG normally meets at noon on the first Wednesday of each month at CMAP. It is coordinated by Nick Ferguson. Please contact him to be added to the e-mail distribution list.

Next Meeting

June 5th, 2013

Presenters:

Josh Auld, Hubert Ley, Michael Hope, and Vadim Sokolov, Argonne National Laboratory

Topic:

POLARIS: Planning- and Operations-modeling Language for Agent-based Regional Integrated Simulations

Abstract:

Travel demand, traffic flow, network operations and land-use models have traditionally been modeled in a decoupled way, and the models are often developed by different groups for different contexts, requirement, etc. These issues can lead to many potential inefficiencies and difficulties in integrating the various components into a unified, holistic model. In this paper we present a prototype of a software framework which allows the user to develop an integrated simulation of a transportation system in a standardized, extensible manner, as well as an implementation of an agent-based planning and network operations microsimulation model using this approach. The project uses an agent-based modeling approach to developing an integrated transportation system model. This allows the model to overcome some of the limitations of traditional aggregated transportation models, particularly with respect to sensitivity to behavioral aspects of the travelers. The Planning- and Operations-modeling Language for Agent-based Regional Integrated Simulations (POLARIS) project, then, is intended to develop such a modeling framework and demonstrate the benefits of this approach through the implementation of an integrated travel-demand and network operations agent-based microsimulation model. The model is intended to be used in evaluating network operations improvements and ITS implementations from a planning perspective. This paper provides background on the POLARIS modeling framework and details the development of several modules using the framework which form the basis of the planning and operations simulation model.

Past Meetings

April 3, 2013

Topic — Network Microsimulation Extension to CMAP's Activity-Based Travel Model

Presenters — Kermit Wies, Craig Heither, and Matt Stratton, CMAP

March 6, 2013

Topic — Reducing Energy Use in Multimodal Transportation System

Presenter — Lili Du, Ph.D., Illinois Institute of Technology

November 14, 2012

Topic: Enumeration of Households for Trip Generation

Presenter: Ron Eash, Parsons Brinckerhoff

October 3, 2012

Topic: The Weather Impact on Travel Behavior in Chicagoland

Presenter: Zhenyu Zhao, Northwestern University

August 31, 2012

Topic: CMAP Advanced Modeling Symposium

Materials:

White Paper: An Agent-based Computational Economic (ACE) extension to CMAP's Mesoscale Freight Model

White Paper: Regional network microsimulation, level-of-service metrics and activity-based demand modeling

Questions posted during the pre-symposium webinar

Symposium presentation

Symposium lunch presentation by Jesse Elam: Analysis of congestion pricing on GO TO 2040 major capital projects

August 24, 2012

Topic: Pre-Symposium Webinar, CMAP Advanced Travel Modeling Symposium

Presenters:

Peter Vovsha: CMAP's Transit Modernization Model

Maren Outwater: TCRP H37 Characteristics of Premium Transit Service

Monique Urban: CMAP's Mesoscale Freight Model

Maren Outwater: Tour-based and Supply Chain Modeling for Freight in Chicago

Mark Hickman: Incorporation of ABM-Derived Transit Demand into a DTA

Hubert Ley: Evolution of a Chicago Region TRANSIMS Application

Hani Mahmassani: Development of a Chicago Region DYNASMART-P Application

June 6, 2012

Topic: A Two-Part Presentation: An Overview of the New American FactFinder and Census Data Sets Currently Available from CMAP

Presenters: Jon Hallas and Xiaohong Zhang, CMAP

April 4, 2012

Topic: Predicting Road Traffic Route Flows and Multi-Class Link Flows Uniquely for Urban Transportation Planning

Presenter: David Boyce, Ph.D., Northwestern University

March 7, 2012

Topic: Development, Calibration, and Application of Simulation-Based Dynamic Traffic Assignment to the Greater Chicago Network Using DYNASMART-P

Presenters: Ali Zockaie K. and Meead Saberi, Northwestern University

February 1, 2012

Topic: Vulnerability and Adaptation Options of European Transport Systems towards Weather Extremes – Intermediate Findings from the EU-Funded Research Project WEATHER

Presenter: Claus Doll, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI

October 5, 2011

Topic: CMAP's Activity-Based and Freight Models

Presenters: Matt Stratton and Kermit Wies, CMAP

Activity-Based Model Final Report

Meso-Scale Freight Model Final Report

September 7, 2011

Topic: Localized Application of Texas Transportation Institute's Cost of Congestion Methods

Presenter: Max Shmaltsuyev

July 6, 2011

Topic: Using Toll Plaza Transaction Data for Model Calibration

Presenter: Zubair Ghafoor, Wilbur Smith Associates