Configuration
The minimum a scenario needs
A MATSim scenario requires, at minimum, three things:
| Component | What it provides |
|---|---|
| A transport network | The supply side: where agents can go |
| A population containing individual travel plans | The demand side: who goes where, and when |
| A configuration file | How the simulation should behave |
The current official MATSim example project identifies the same three, naming the configuration, network and population files as the minimum components of a MATSim scenario.
Additional inputs are required when public transport or other transport services are explicitly simulated. Those are covered on the inputs page.
What the configuration file controls
The configuration file specifies input-file locations, together with the parameters controlling how the simulation runs.
| Parameter group | Controls |
|---|---|
| Simulation modules | Which components of the framework are active |
| Scoring | How plan utility is calculated |
| Routing | How agents find paths through the network |
| Replanning | How, and how many, agents change their plans between iterations |
| Travel modes | Which modes are available and how they behave |
| Simulation duration | The period simulated |
| Number of iterations | How long the model runs towards equilibrium |
| Output settings | What is written, and at what frequency |
The config file is a modelling decision, not plumbing
It is tempting to treat this file as a list of paths. It is not.
Scoring parameters encode what agents value. Replanning parameters set how readily they adapt. The iteration count determines whether the run has converged at all. Two scenarios with identical network and population files can produce materially different answers on the strength of this file alone.
Any published result should therefore be accompanied by the configuration that produced it.
The example project
MATSim ships a reference scenario that demonstrates the minimum working setup. The handbook points to it directly:
| Resource | Purpose |
|---|---|
| matsim-example-project | A complete, runnable example scenario |
This is the equil scenario referenced in the handbook's output notes, and it is the
recommended starting point for anyone setting up a first MATSim run.
Where the input files come from
The network, transit schedule and transit vehicle files a scenario needs are produced by the transport supply chapter. The population and plans file comes from transport demand.
This chapter consumes both.