Digital transport mobility solution provider Aimsun is building a transport model covering the 100-square-mile area within the M60 ring road for Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
The model is a strategic planning and operational management tool that TfGM can use to assess a range of schemes being developed in support of delivering the Bee Network – Greater Manchester’s vision for a more integrated, accessible and affordable public transport and active travel system.
The Aimsun model replaces the previous microscopic models of Manchester that were built in separate software packages.
Managing director of Aimsun UK James Daniels said: “We’re building a model with a forward-looking architecture. We’re wrapping it in this infrastructure that is updateable, so it can be continually rebased.
“This architecture forms the perfect starting point for real-time traffic management in the future – it will make it easier for Greater Manchester to transition to a decision support system like Aimsun Live.”
Aimsun’s model offers a new, fully integrated environment that includes macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic modelling levels in a single platform.
The macroscopic level will be used for demand estimation, and nested inside, will be two layers: mesoscopic and microscopic.
The mesoscopic scale uses simplified vehicle dynamics for greater efficiency and is better suited for fast, full model assignments; the microscopic model covers only Manchester city centre, where greater granularity is needed to capture interactions between individual vehicles.
The model is being developed using DfT Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG), in particular, TAG Unit M3.1 Highway Assignment Modelling.
As such, this model can provide evidence for submissions in support of HM Treasury-compliant business cases.
Use of the model and future updates will be completed within TfGM’s Highways Forecasting and Analytical Services team, using their experience of traffic modelling and Aimsun Next software.
Final versions of the model will be delivered to TfGM later this year.
TfGM highways strategy manager Sam Corns said: “We’ve tasked Aimsun with developing a large and complex model to ambitious project milestones.
“Given Aimsun’s experience in building similar projects elsewhere, and their status as developers of the software, we were confident they would deliver on this challenging project.”
Achievements and innovations in sustainable city planning will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
