Hybrid Macro / Meso assignments in PTV Visum

Regional travel demand models frequently serve as a basis for analyzing wider area impacts in traffic networks. There are often cases where a specific study area needs to be analyzed in greater detail with respect to intersection level interaction of traffic flows, signal timings and corridor management. Such studies are typically for evaluation of short to mid-range impacts. To capture time dynamics, either sub-networks are extracted and used for the study, or the regional model is adapted to the requirements of the project. However, both approaches have shortcomings. Extracted sub-areas may not capture re-routing effects through the broader network and adding lane and intersection geometry and timing detail to entire regional models is cost prohibitive.
The macro-meso hybrid simulation in Visum addresses the shortcomings of the mentioned approaches by combining areas modeled in varying detail in a single assignment method. This enables both a regional view of the network and simulation level detail in a focus area. The modeling effort and runtime are drastically reduced compared to a purely mesoscopic approach. This allows pragmatic and cost-effective application of dynamic traffic assignment at a regional scale.
In this webinar, we will provide an example-based overview of the macro-meso hybrid simulation methodology and cover the basics of network coding and demand setup required to get a hybrid simulation up and running. We will also cover the workflow for evaluating a network scenario and related analysis of outputs, both graphical and tabular.