Abstract
Public transit plays an important role in emergency evacuations, particularly for areas where public transit serves as a major commute mode for commuters. Microsimulation techniques provide great flexibility in assessing different scenarios in emergency situations. Combining GIS-based network analysis with microsimulation techniques, this study developed a framework to simulate emergency evacuations using rail transit. Applying the framework to a hypothetical attack on the Pentagon, this study investigated the performance of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Metrorail for large-scale evacuations. A network-based analysis was performed to estimate the number of riders in association with each metro line and station. Using VISSIM, a multi-mode micro-simulation software package, this study integrated a pedestrian model with a Metrorail transit model to evaluate the performance of the Metrorail in the hypothetical evacuations. The simulation results suggested that if the potential of Metrorail transit is effectively utilized, it could be very useful resource during a large-scale evacuation. This study demonstrated the great potential and flexibility of microsimulation techniques for evaluating complex evacuation scenarios and strategies. The framework and approach used in this study can be applied to analyze other similar situations and help develop effective evacuation plans.
Published Version
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