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Open Source Software in Transport Modelling

16 Feb 2023

Devrim Kara, PTV UK

Transport Modellers Forum, London

COMMERCIAL

OPEN

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Commercial software

  • Structured and proven methods
  • Driving industry innovation
  • Incorporating feedback from users
  • Adhering to guidelines and best practice
  • Skills transferability via training and documentation
  • Expert community
  • Stability of results, version compatibility
  • Dedicated development and maintenance team
  • Promoting consistency and transparency
  • Vendor warranty and long term support reassurance

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Open software

  • Developed & backed by commercial organisations
  • Developed & maintained by academics
  • Some are project specific and volunteer work
  • Used in bespoke methods and usually for niche applications
  • Some focus on data and other software interfaces
  • Data visualisation dashboards
  • Applying common standards

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Collaboration initiatives

  • PTV Visum OMX interface for OD data standards & processing

https://github.com/osPlanning/omx

  • General Modelling Network Specification

https://github.com/zephyr-data-specs/GMNS

  • Python for Visum parallel assignments

https://github.com/david-aspital/PTV-Visum-Parallel-Assignments

  • SBB’s ABM in PTV Visum and MATSim

https://github.com/SchweizerischeBundesbahnen/abm-in-visum

  • PTV Visum and ActivitySim Interface (ready to use in Visum 2023 procedures)

https://activitysim.github.io/

PTV Optima interfaces with PostGIS, GeoServer, Jboss, OpenLayers

  • CAVs, V2V, V2X, GLOSA…

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The best of both worlds for ABM

Visum

  • High performance linked data structures
  • Robust and proven assignment methods
  • Advanced visualisation
  • Other benefits of commercial software

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Python

  • Ability for a niche application
  • Customisable by the user
  • Generalised for a range of applications
  • Training course in Birmingham 21/22 March

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Data sources

    • PTV Model2Go as a commercial data source map, network, speed, POIs, zones, connectors, demand
    • DfT Bus Open Data Source (BODS) is successful
    • Open Streetmaps and GTFS

How about?

    • Open Model or model derived OD matrices
    • Events and roadworks
    • Standardised national synthetic population
    • Traffic signals database

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Example: Traffic signal open source data and interface

Current Situation

  • Currently time consuming manual input
  • Open to human and other errors
  • Every authority has a different data format
  • Some in PDFs and if you are lucky in CSV
  • Some only via the controller manual

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Open database

  • Standardised data formats (who decides?)
  • Regional or national database (where to start?)
  • Updated and maintained (by who?)
  • Common format adoption by commercial and open software

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Software is the tool

    • How we use it, data quality, modeller experience is important
    • What is the right balance?
    • Commercial software has many advantages and will continue being used
    • Open source tools can help in certain areas but can be challenging to maintain and transfer
    • Plenty of opportunities for collaboration