Urban traffic modelling – Effective Traffic Management

In the dynamic world of urban traffic modeling, the ETM Project at Rennes ALTEN Labs plans to move towards innovation and improvement. Under the guidance of the Project Leader and thanks to the unvaluable support of different engineers who temporarily joined the team during the internship, the project is committed to advancing Multimodal Mobility simulation, enhancing existing models to accurately reflect real-world traffic complexities. At its core, the project aims to shape a traffic simulation that realistically mirrors the busy rhythms of the Toulouse Metropolitan area. Central to this transformative endeavor is the integration of a sophisticated MATSim and SUMO based pipeline, encompassing the creation of a synthetic population derived from publicly available real data, followed by the generation of realistic traffic demand, which is subsequently translated into a microscopic simulation for enhanced accuracy and fidelity. A crucial aspect of the research journey involves a detailed exploration of intermediate pipeline outputs, uncovering a valuable collection of real-world data. By systematically refining the outputs of the utilized software through comprehensive post-processing, the project strengthens the credibility of comparisons and identifies insights of critical simulation scenarios with known areas of concern. This iterative process highlights the high importance of adaptive modification and feedback mechanisms, aiming for alignment with real-world traffic dynamics. Furthermore, the project tackles challenges of representativity directly, quickly identifying and iteratively addressing issues from the beginning. Through a sharp exploration of mesoscopic simulation, compatibility challenges between different scales arise, prompting strategic manual interventions to optimize lane usage and ease traffic congestion in relevant areas. In essence, with the aim of harmonizing simulation with reality, the project triggers a change in our understanding and management of traffic dynamics within complex urban landscapes.