Inputs
The principal inputs to the transport models are transport demand, transport supply and model configuration.
MATSim inputs
Transport demand
A synthetic travel demand file containing socio-demographic attributes and activity plans for each simulated agent.
| Format | Typically MATSim population/plans XML |
| Contains | Simulated agents and their daily activity-travel plans |
| Plan structure | Sequences of activities such as home, work, education and shopping, and the travel legs connecting them |
| Also may contain | Person- and household-level socioeconomic attributes attached to the agents |
Produced by the transport demand chapter.
Transport supply
A digital representation of the transport system, containing nodes and links with their operational attributes:
- Link length
- Free-flow speed
- Capacity
- Number of lanes
- Permitted transport modes
Produced by the transport supply chapter.
Public transport schedules
Required where public transport is explicitly modelled. An XML file containing all public transport service details:
- Stop locations
- Transit lines and routes
- Departures and service times
Transport vehicles
Descriptions and attributes of each vehicle type simulated, such as car, van, bus, rail and metro, supplied as an XML file.
For public transport, the transit vehicle file defines the vehicles operating those services and their characteristics, including vehicle type and passenger capacity.
Configuration file
An XML file containing all modules and parameter values defined to simulate scenarios. See configuration for what it controls.
Summary
| Input | Required | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population or plans file | Always | Transport demand |
| Network file | Always | Transport supply |
| Configuration file | Always | Written for the scenario |
| Transit schedules | Where public transport is modelled | Public transport |
| Transit vehicle definitions | Where public transport is modelled | Public transport |
MATRA inputs
MATRA additionally requires a set of freight-specific and energy-specific inputs that MATSim does not use.
| Category | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Spatial and operational | Information describing freight depots, customers, charging infrastructure and electricity substations |
| Network | A digital road network |
| Demand | Freight-demand and depot-operation parameters |
| Fleet | Vehicle and fleet characteristics |
| Energy | Energy and charging parameters |
| Scenario | Scenario assumptions |
These are described in full on the MATRA page.
Unresolved cross-references in the source
The handbook's input list points to "section XX" for transport demand and "section YY" for transport supply. Both placeholders were left unfilled.
They have been resolved to the transport demand and transport supply chapters here, which is clearly what was intended, but the source document should be corrected.