Topics

• The Big Picture
• Model Input
• Model Development
• Model Application
  • Transportation Corridor Projects
  • Transportation Operational Studies
  • Transit Projects
    • Modes and Terminology
    • Network Coding
    • Forecasting New Modes
    • New Starts
    • Small Starts
    • Federal Railroad Administration Guidelines
    • Validation
      • Transit Service Representation Validation
      • Transit Path-Building Validation
      • Transit Assignment Validation
    • Reasonability and Sensitivity Testing
  • Metropolitan Transportation Plans
  • Statewide Transportation Plans
  • Interregional Travel
  • Large Transportation Investment Studies
  • Pricing Studies
  • Public Private Partnership Projects
  • Congestion Management
  • Multi-Modal Projects
  • Non-Motorized Projects
  • Project Prioritization
  • Emergency Evacuation
  • Energy and Fuel Consumption
  • Multiple Goal Optimization
  • Infrastructure Sizing
  • Freight
  • Land Use and Development Analysis
  • Transportation and Air Quality Conformity
  • Climate Change and Green House Gas
  • Other Policy Analysis

Transit Service Representation Validation

 Transit speeds for transit lines operating in mixed flow should be tied to auto speeds as well as to scheduled transit travel times.  This approach ensures that the transit vehicles do not travel faster than the competing auto traffic.  Regardless of the transit / auto speed relationship used, tests comparing modeled travel times on the transit network reasonably reproduce transit schedules for the validation year.  Of course, such an approach is greatly influenced by the currency of published transit schedules.  Standard practice compares modeled to scheduled terminal-to-terminal run times.  Better practice compares modeled run times to scheduled run times at intermediate time points.

Other Resources

1. Travel Model Improvement Program, Travel Model Validation and Reasonableness Checking Manual – Second Edition
2. Travel Forecasting for New Starts Proposals – September 2007 – The Federal Transit Administration’s Office of Planning and Environment sponsored a two-day workshop September 19 & 20, 2007, at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri.
3. Travel Model Improvement Program, Shining a Light Inside the Black Box webinar series, especially Sessions 2 and 3: Session 1 slides, Session 2 slides, Session 3 slides, Session 4 slides.
4. Travel Forecasting for New Starts Proposal – March 2009 – The Federal Transit Administration’s Office of Planning and Environment sponsored two three-day workshops: March 3-5, 2009, at the Radisson Hotel Phoenix City Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and March 23-25, 2009, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Tampa, Florida