Travel Demand Model
The Authority's Travel Demand Model
Both the Measure C Growth Management Program and the State congestion management legislation require the Authority to develop and maintain a travel demand model. These models use information on current and future population and employment, transit ridership, expected roadway improvements, and observed travel behavior to forecast traffic on the regional transportation system. The travel demand model is used in several ways:
- Local agencies use it to analyze the effects of new development and changes in their general plans.
- Various agencies, including the Authority and Caltrans, use it to analyze the effects on new transportation improvements.
- The Authority uses the model to analyze the effects of its plans and programs, including the Countywide Comprehensive Transportation Plan and the Congestion Management Program.
The Authority's Decennial Model Update, completed in 2003, represents a major upgrade in modeling capabilities. The new model adds greater detail, in both the number of traffic analysis zones and the extent of the transportation network included, and is now integrated with geographic information systems, improving the geographical accuracy and display capabilities of the model. Several documents provide details on the model update and the use of the model:
- The Final Report of the Decennial Model Update (June 2003) documents the process of preparing the CCTA Travel Model and to provide results of the validation and forecasting model runs. It contains:
- The CCTA Travel Model Documentation Addendum - Final Report, July 2005 describes revisions to the model that were made following review by the RTPCs and local jurisdictions. A separate Excel file of forecast "screenline" volumes from Appendix D is available.
- The Addendum to the Model User's Guide documents changes that were made to the Countywide model operating procedures. It incorporates revisions to the TransCAD model under version 4.6.
- Plots showing AM/PM Daily, Peak Hour and Peak Period Volumes from the current model are available for download.