This paper documents a comparative study of two computer packages for traffic modelling, which are TRANSYT (macrosimulation) and PARAMICS (microsimulation). The study aims to determine the "closeness" of the predictions from both models for a similar network. The selected study area was an arterial road network located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The early stages of the study consisted of calibrating the models through collecting traffic data at the study area. Several types of analysis were conducted after calibration. It was concluded that results from both models are equally valid for the "base case" since only small differences existed between the two models. However, the PARAMICS model was found to be sensitive to the increases in demand imposed. Extreme cases of lane blocking occurred but are not reflective of reality. This was also found when simulating the PARAMICS model with high demands for longer intervals. It was concluded from such observations that the TRANSYT model may be more reliable under higher demands. An attempt was made to model bus priority in TRANSYT. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E211903.
Samenvatting