Table of Contents

GTAModel User Guide - Overview

This user guide will walk you through using GTAModel V4. We recommend that you complete the Initial Setup and First Run guide before moving onto any other sections.

Initial Setup and First Run

  • Preface - Gives an introduction to the tutorial.
  • Software Setup - Install EMME and setup XTMF. This step will require administrative access on the computer.
  • Initial Configuration - Setup EMME for GTAModel and Import your Model System into XTMF.
  • Executing a Run - Learn how to configure your run with different scenarios.
  • Model Outputs - Goes through the default outputs of GTAModel V4.

Population Synthesis

Up until this point we have been using populations already built by TMG. To generate your own synthetic population you will have to learn about one of the population synthesizers that are used with GTAModel. Make sure to pick the version designed for your model.

Creating Alternative Scenarios

Each scenario page will go over what files exist in each Scenario folder and how to construct a new scenario.

  • Scenario-C-19 - Only used by C-19 variant models.
  • Scenario-Employment - Provides land-use information for GTAModel regarding the location of jobs, their occupation/employment split, and the ratio of how many people work from home or are external workers.
  • Scenario-Network - This goes over the inputs that GTAModel load in to construct the different time period networks for both auto and transit.
  • Scenario-Parking - This scenario directory, in GTAModel V4.2+ gives fine grained control over how much parking costs.
  • Scenario-Population - This directory contains all of the information about the households and people that live in the simulation area.
  • Scenario-School - This directory contains all of the information about the linkages between household zone and school zone for Elementary, Secondary, and post-secondary schools.
  • Scenario-Stations - Learn how to add a new station to your model.
  • Scenario-Transit Fares - These scenarios allow you to change the public transit fare policy.

Integrating Custom Code

Now that you have finished your intial setup and completed your first run you are ready to start modifying your model system. One of the ways to do that is to program one or more new modules for XTMF. These guides below will walk you through the process of creating some common extensions.

  • Overview - This tutorial goes through the setup for creating new modules for GTAModel and gives a high level overview of where GTAModel is designed to be extended. We recommend that you start with this before moving onto more specific examples.
  • Mode Choice Post Processor - This tutorial goes through the steps to create a new module that is able to analyse the results for each internal iteration of mode choice.
  • Creating a New Mode - This tutorial goes through the steps required to program a new tutorial

File Formats

GTAModel uses a number of different file formats for both input and output data.

  • Fare Schema File Specification - An XML based file format for describing how fare policies are applied to GTAModel.
  • Microsim - A series of CSV tables generated by GTAModel V4 runs that gives detailed records about households, persons, trips, modes taken, station access, and passenger facilitation.
  • Multi-Run Forecasting Configuration - This file format was used for GTAModel V4.0 in order to execute multiple runs of the model before XTMF was able to queue runs. If your model system is based on GTAModel V4.0 this will cover everything you need to execute a "Multi-Run".
  • MTX - A binary matrix format designed by INRO for moving matrices efficiently in and out of EMME.
  • Network Scenario Format - This goes over TMG's standard grouping of files that form everything required for GTAModel to automatically load in, and create time periods networks.
  • Zone File Cache - This covers how the .zfc file format is structured. Currently in GTAModel it is used for storing scheduler distributions and is slowly being phased out of the model system. It was originally formulated efficiently load tables off of disk when we were restricted to 2GB of RAM for our models.
  • Zones.csv - This goes over the CSV file used for giving GTAModel V4.0 the description of the zone system.

Outputs

While each version of GTAModel can contain different outputs the following document some of the options:

  • ShapeFiles - Contains one or more sets of ShapeFiles representing the road and transit networks.