Features

QRS II 9 and GNE Features

TYPICAL QRS II EDITION LIMITS

	500 zones	2000 zones	6000 zones
Highway zones	500	2000	6000
Highway nodes	60000	200000	400000
Highway links	15000	50000	100000
Transit zones	1500	6000	18000
Transit nodes	30000	60000	120000
Transit links	108000	216000	432000

Another limit for all editions is 250 links connected to the same node.  The 6000-zone limits are suitable for region-wide analysis in cities up to 10,000,000 in population.

TRIP GENERATION

• Full support for NCHRP #187 trip productions and attractions
• Full support for NCHRP #365 trip attraction
• Cross classification method from NCHRP #716 for trip productions
• Eight (8) trip purposes, HBW, HBNW, NHB and 5 others for special situations
• Full range of balancing options
• All parameters can be user modified
• User-definable trip generation models using GNE worksheets and/or spreadsheets
• User-definable trip generation expressions with up to 100 variables within QRS II
• Ability to important trip generation results from other sources, such as spreadsheets

TRIP DISTRIBUTION

• Gravity model:
  • Doubly constrained or singly constrained
  • Friction factor tables
  • Friction factors with exponential, power functions or combined (gamma, per NCHRP #716
• Gives both TAZ and district-level trip tables
• Traditional Fratar factoring of OD tables
• User-supplied trip tables/purposes
• Composite travel times includes effects of transit and highway-based modes
• Ability to modify travel times by OD pair
• Equilibrium averaged trip table
• OD trip table refinement from traffic counts
  • Static
    • Entropy maximization
    • Full table generalized least squares
    • Fratar uniproportional generalized least squares
    • Fratar biproportional generalized least squares
    • Single factor
    • Least squares multiproportional
  • Dynamic
    • Full table generalized least squares
    • Fratar biproportional generalized least squares
    • Single factor generalized least squares
• OD table disaggregation
  • Optimal disaggregation using traffic counts
  • Traditional disaggregation with fixed origin and destination factors

MODE SPLIT

• Nested logit framework
• Eight (8) modes: highway, transit and 6 other user-definable modes
• Handles full system, park-and-ride, single-route, and corridor analyses
• Two market segments (captive and choice) for transit
• Transit disutility with terms for initial wait, wait time, number of transfers, transfer time, riding time, access time, fare, and socioeconomic char-acteristics of production and attraction zones
• Complete set of default parameters
• Regular and timed transfers for transit
• Allows any user-definable mode to be linked to a highway vehicle class

AUTOMOBILE OCCUPANCY

• NCHRP #187, #365 and #716 automobile occupancy
• User-definable occupancy expressions in up to about 20 variables related to the OD pair

TIME OF DAY

• Pre-assignment time of day factoring according to NCHRP Reports # 187, #365 and #716

TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT

• Skim tree generation, which can be graphically displayed with the General Network Editor
• All-or-nothing assignment
• Area-spread multipath assignment (point-to-point)
• Elastic-demand equilibrium assignment (MSA)
• Fixed-demand equilibrium assignment (MSA)
• Dynamic equilibrium traffic assignment (MSA) (DTA)
• Multiclass equilibrium traffic assignment (MSA), up to 10 vehicle classes
• Right-hand or left-hand drive (UK style)
• Select link analysis (zone-to-zone) compatible with equilibrium assignment
• Select zone analysis compatible with equilibrium assignment
• Link-to-link flow matrices
• Volumes on all links that use selected links
• Ability to withhold certain functional classes from any assignment

PATH FINDING AND DELAY

• Vine-building algorithm allows:
  • Exact turn penalties
  • U-turns and jug handles
• Automatic detection of penalized turns
• Dynamic left turn penalties
• Queue delays in dynamic traffic assignments
• Explicit traffic controlled intersections for delay
  • Signalized (2000 to 2010 HCM delay procedures)
  • All-way stops (M/G/1 queuing model)
  • Some-way stops (one-way or two-way; 2000 to 2010 HCM)
  • Yield signs and roundabouts (2010 HCM, enhanced)
  • Automatic calculation of signal timing/phasing
  • Ability to handle actuated signals
  • User-definable signal time/phasing
  • Signal timing: adaptive, actuated and fixed
• User-supplied base turning volumes
• Recognition of opposing traffic on two-lane roads
• BPR speed/volume function for uncontrolled road segments
• Differing BPR curves by functional class
• Ability to recognize heavy vehicle PCEs
• Ability to generate OD distance matrix along shortest path
• Recognition of link shape points
• Special path choice algorithm for work zones and incidents
• Reliability can be included in impedances
• Impedance can be a linear function of time, distance and other factors, which can differ by vehicle class
• Truck driver rest periods

USER INTERFACE

• Data input with the powerful GNE
• Important parameters in dialog boxes, other parameters in easily accessed text files
• Results summarized in 37 different standard reports
• Custom reports with GNE’s Extract feature
• Most temporary files user readable for diagnostic purposes during network construction
• Reports as unlabeled text files for quick transfer to spreadsheets or in labeled format for inclusion in word processing documents
• History of runs recorded for inspection or archival
• Ability to “cascade” multiple runs together for convenience or for highly complex simulations

TRANSIT TRIP ASSIGNMENT

• Transit zones definable by service area boundaries
• NCHRP #187, #365 and # 716 time of day procedures
• Stochastic-multipath trip assignment
• Multimodal hypernetworks, that is all fixed route transit modes are shown on the same network
• Ridership for each zone, route, link, station, district interchange and for the system
• Transfer volumes at each transfer point

DOCUMENTATION/SUPPORT

• Large base of active users
• Comprehensive Reference Manual
• Availability of technical assistance
• Availability of training programs

TOOLS

• Utility for converting network data from GISs and other travel forecasting packages
• Conversion of binary trip tables and travel time matrices to text
• Calculation of consumer surplus
• Preparation of user-supplied trip tables

POWER USER FEATURES

• Internal MOE calculator for air pollution and other environmental effects
• User-modified dynamic link libraries
• “Add” files for direct modification of vehicle trip tables, person trip tables, background turn volumes, productions and attractions, highway times, transit times, transit routes, third mode times, turn penalties, extra times, clock times, capacity, signal timing, ground counts, distribution k-factors and directional splits on bidirection links.

ACTIVITY ALLOCATION

• Activity allocation with an advanced form of the Lowry-Garin model

OTHER

• Parallel processing for fast computations
• Interface to activity-based (ABM) demand models and freight microsimulation models
• 64-bit and 32-bit version available

General Network Editor (GNE) Features

Basic Features

• All major graphics resolutions
• Capacity for huge networks ( > 1,000,000 links)
• Help Section
• Full network editing on Sketch Pad:
  • Node plot
  • Node move
  • Link plot
  • Link split and splice
  • Image refresh
  • Transformations and Undo Transform (Rotation, translation, rescaling)
  • Delete and Undelete
  • Combined link plot and open mode
  • Combined node plot and open mode
  • Link redirection
  • Polygon insert
  • Polygon delete
  • Shape point insert
  • Shape point  remove
  • Fast rescaling
  • Convert shape point to node
  • Convert node to shape point
  • Create nodes from link intersections
• Graphical search on attribute values
• Delete elements by Boolean search
• True, fast network scrolling (w/ scroll bars)
• Network append
• Built-in calculator for expression entry
• Resizable, movable Sketch Pad
• Multiple views on a single network
• Name search
• Network status
• Redefinable worksheets
• Both categorical and real attributes
• Network file readable by user’s own software
• Double-cursor node plotting for accuracy
• Open network elements by name
• Layers for nodes
• Zoom through 15 magnifications
• Background graphics, JPEG, EMF, WMF, other views

Advanced Features

• Node bitmaps for any node shape
• Link bitmaps for any link pattern
• Fill bitmapts for a large variety of polygon fills
• Plots to nearly all printers and to most plotters
• Plots to Windows’ Clipboard (to transfer network images to other Windows’ applications)
• Plots to EMF and WMF format files
• Selection of label sizes, fonts and placement
• Up to 2 labels per element in a single view, more with multiple view overlays
• Labels can be element names, attribute values, or functions of attributes
• Labeling of elements on Sketch Pad and Plots
• Variable node sizes or shape on Sketch Pad and Plots
• Variable polygon fills or borders on Sketch pad and Plots
• Variable link widths or patterns on Sketch Pad and Plots
• Variable node shapes on Sketch Pad and Plots
• Variable colors of nodes and links
• Variable styles of polygons
• Extract – take selected data to other applications
• Update – change network with data from other applications
• Calculate – write BASIC-like programs entirely within GNE (e.g., auto emissions) for preprocessing, post processing, and network editing
• Conversion of TIGER 2000 files
• Conversion and creation of ArcView/ArcInfo/ArcMap shape files
• Polygon overlay area calculator
• Elevation calculator
• Longitude/latitude calculator
• Shortest path algorithm for skim tree construction, market area analysis, and optimal facility location
• Expanded Help
• Redefinable standard node shapes and sizes
• Comprehensive Reference Manual