Outputs
MATSim generates detailed agent-, trip-, vehicle- and network-level outputs that can be used to evaluate transport-system performance.
A great variety of files are produced. The most important is the first below.
The events file
A central output is the events file, which records time-stamped simulation events:
| Event type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Activity | Activity starts and ends |
| Vehicle | Vehicle departures and arrivals |
| Boarding | Agents entering or leaving vehicles |
| Network | Vehicles entering or leaving network links |
Why the events file is the important one
Almost every other result is derived from it rather than reported independently.
Because it records what happened, to whom, where and at what second, it can be re-aggregated after the fact to answer questions that were not anticipated when the run was configured. A summary table cannot do that.
For the IMP this is essential: intersecting a flood that develops over 20-minute steps with traveller movements requires knowing when each movement occurred.
What can be derived from events
These events can be aggregated to calculate:
- Link traffic volumes
- Speeds
- Congestion and delays
- Passenger flows
- Vehicle kilometres travelled
- Travel times
- Mode shares
- Accessibility indicators
Other standard outputs
| Output | Contents |
|---|---|
| Updated population/plans files | Agents' alternative and selected plans, together with their scores |
| Summary statistics | Travel distances, plan scores, and convergence across iterations |
Convergence statistics are a quality check
The summary statistics describing convergence across iterations are how you tell whether a run actually reached equilibrium, or simply stopped when it hit the configured iteration limit.
A scenario that has not converged can still produce plausible-looking numbers.
Module-dependent outputs
Depending on the modules enabled, additional outputs can include:
- Public transport performance
- Emissions
- Freight movements
- Road-pricing effects
- Accessibility measures
- Other scenario-specific indicators
Visualisation and downstream analysis
Because the complete movements of individual agents and vehicles are retained, the outputs can also be visualised spatially and temporally, and used for subsequent analyses of:
| Analysis | Relevance to the IMP |
|---|---|
| Transport resilience | The core question of the framework |
| Policy interventions | Evaluating soft adaptation measures |
| Infrastructure disruptions | Flooded links, closed structures |
| Future travel-demand scenarios | Demand growth under development plans |
Where these outputs go
MATSim's outputs are the raw material for performance metrics, where they are turned into the POESE indicators used to quantify impact.
MATRA outputs
MATRA produces a different family of results, focused on freight operations and energy rather than network performance:
| Level | Outputs |
|---|---|
| Vehicle and route | Route logs |
| Depot and charging | Charging location and bay use |
| System | Fleet use, service levels, unserved freight demand, charging and queuing activity, electricity supplied, infrastructure utilisation |
These are described in full on the MATRA page.
Taken together
Together, the MATSim and MATRA outputs support assessment of:
- Network performance
- Traveller behaviour
- Freight operations
- Infrastructure requirements
Internal reference in the source
The handbook directs readers to an internal AgBM_MATSim Teams folder to see the
results obtained from running the equil MATSim scenario.
That location is not publicly accessible. The scenario itself is public, at matsim-example-project, and the Teams reference should be replaced or removed before publication.