METROPOLIS2: Bridging theory and simulation in agent-based transport modeling

2024 Lucas Javaudin and André de Palma

Abstract

Transport simulators can be used to compute the equilibrium between transportation demand and supply within complex transportation systems. However, despite their theoretical foundations, there is a lack of comparative analysis between simula tor results and theoretical models in the literature. In this paper, we bridge this gap by introducing METROPOLIS2, a novel mesoscopic transport simulator capable of simulating agents’ travel decisions (including mode, departure-time, and route choice), based on discrete-choice theory within a dynamic, continuous-time framework. We demonstrate METROPOLIS2’s functionality through its application to the single-road bottleneck model and validate its ability to replicate analytical results. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive overview of METROPOLIS2 in large-scale scenarios. Finally, we compare METROPOLIS2’s results with those of the original METROPOLIS1 simulator in a simulation of Paris, highlighting its speed and ability to converge to an equilibrium.

Keywords

Transport Simulation; Agent-Based Modeling; Bottleneck; Dynamic Traffic Assignment; Discrete-Choice Models

Bibtex (click to select)

@unpublished{JavaudinDePalma2025,
  author  = "Lucas Javaudin and André de Palma",
  title   = {{METROPOLIS2: Bridging theory and simulation in agent-based transport modeling}},
  year    = 2024,
  month   = 03,
}