An efficient approach to create agent-based transport simulation scenarios based on ubiquitous Big Data and a new, aspatial activity-scheduling model

Abstract

Agent-based transport simulation models are a particularly useful tool to analyze demand-oriented transport policies and new mobility services, which have both gained significant attention lately. Since travel diaries, a traditional source to create the transport demand in agent-based transport models, are often hard to procure and not policy-sensitive, alternative approaches to creating travel demand representations for simulation scenarios are sought. In this study, a particularly efficient approach based on Big Data and a new, aspatial activity-based demand model with comparatively low input data requirements is established. Home, work, and education locations are informed based on mobile-phone-based origin-destination matrices. Other activity locations are modeled within the scope of the coevolutionary algorithm of the agent-based transport model, which is also responsible for finding suitable travel options of the modeled individuals. As a result, a comparatively lightweight process chain to create an agent-based transport simulation scenario is established, which is transferable to other regions. A basic quality evaluation of the created tool chain is carried out against a well-validated transport simulation model of the same region.