Comparative Study of EMME/2 and QRS II for Modeling a Small Community

The availability of so many computer-based travel-demand forecasting models provides transportation planners with powerful and flexible tools in the modeling phase of their planning or traffic-impact studies, but it has confused users in the selection of an appropriate model for a particular study. It is commonly recognized that none of the existing travel-demand models is perfectly suited for all network scenarios and traffic conditions. A particular model that is strong in one application scenario may be weak in a different application scenario. A comparative study is presented of two widely used travel-demand forecasting models, EMME/2 and QRS II, for applications to a small community. A structural comparison is performed, and a real-world small network is modeled by EMME/2 and QRS II to identify specific features and limitations of each model. Areas for comparison include model structure, drawing of the network, data input, network modification, parameter calibration, and modeling output. The study does not recommend either model to transportation planners for a practical application to a small community. Instead, the study identifies the major differences and common features of two models, which can help planners understand what they can expect from a certain model when they choose to use it.