MoPeD meets MITO: a hybrid modeling framework for pedestrian travel demand

Transport demand models were initially designed for simulating car trips. Nowadays researchers and planners are considering pedestrian travel and its health and safety impacts in the regional transport models. However, the existing transport models lack the knowledge and experience in pedestrian modeling for health assessment. This paper contributes to the modeling practice by developing an integrated model called the MITO/MoPeD. The model builds upon previous model development and integrates the fine-grained pedestrian modeling tool into the agent-based transport model. The MITO/MoPeD model is applied to the Munich metropolitan area. Model performances are analyzed based on travel measures (e.g., walk share, trip length distribution, and pedestrian flow) and physical activity volumes. Results show that the MITO/MoPeD model can better represent pedestrian travel behavior than the existing Munich Model. It performed better in simulating the spatial distribution of walk shares and the distribution of walk trip lengths. Moreover, it overcomes the issue of overestimating physical activity volumes. These findings suggest that the MITO/MoPeD model can deliver more precise travel outcomes. More importantly, it is valuable for addressing pedestrian planning issues such as transportation infrastructure investments, land use planning, assessment of safety and health outcomes, and evaluation of environmental impacts.

Automated summary

Existing transport demand models lack the knowledge and experience in pedestrian modeling for health assessment. This paper presents the MITO/MoPeD model, which integrates fine-grained pedestrian modeling into an agent-based transport model, and applies it to the Munich metropolitan area. The model outperforms the existing Munich Model in simulating pedestrian travel behavior and addresses issues like overestimating physical activity volumes. The MITO/MoPeD model delivers more precise travel outcomes and has significant implications for pedestrian planning issues.