Latest trends in micro simulation : an application of the PARAMICS model

Abstract

Paper presented at the 20th Annual South African Transport Conference 16 - 20 July 2001 "Meeting the transport challenges in Southern Africa", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. ABSTRACT: Transportation systems have become more complex and frequently congested.As a result, microscopic simulation has gained recognition as an effective way for quantifying traffic operations. Microscopic simulation models can address various types of network issues, and in more recent developments they also provide a tool for evaluating Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS),Travel Demand Management (TDM),Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)and Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS).With the constant increase in desktop computing power, the use of microscopic simulation models to model real applications are becoming more widespread. A variety of microscopic simulation models are currently available from academic and commercial sources, and new models are continually being developed. This paper presents a brief overview of available microscopic simulation models, a description of different simulation techniques and modelling approaches with examples and specific references to the PARAMICS model. The authors of this paper have recent detailed experience in working with the PARAMICS model and see the need to expose the traffic engineering community within South Africa to what is sometimes called the “new generation ”of simulation models. The PARAMICS model is a suite of software tools for microscopic simulation that includes time-step traffic simulation of freeway, surface street and dense network operations. This paper presents several real-world examples of the application of PARAMICS to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of micro-simulation.