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Model Documentation and Data Requests

Model Documentation

Currently Adopted Travel Model

The Version 2.3 Travel Model became the adopted regional travel model for the Washington, D.C. area when the TPB adopted the following two resolutions at its meeting on November 16, 2011:

• R5-2012: The TPB determines that the 2011 CLRP conforms to all requirements of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. [The Version 2.3 Travel Model was used for this analysis]
• R6-2012: The TPB approves the 2011 CLRP.

The following final documentation is available in PDF format:

• Calibration Report for the TPB Travel Forecasting Model, Version 2.3, on the 3,722-Zone Area System. Final Report. Washington, D.C.: National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, January 20, 2012.
• User's Guide for the TPB Travel Forecasting Model, Version 2.3, Build 38, on the 3,722-Zone Area System. Final Report. Washington, D.C.: National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, January 20, 2012.
  

Previously Adopted Travel Models

Version 2.2

• COG/TPB Travel Forecasting Model Version 2.2 Specification, Validation, and User's Guide - March 1, 2008
• Two Step Traffic Assignment for HOT Lane Modeling in 2008 CLRP - December 2, 2008
• Transmittal of Version 2.2 travel model files as per the 2008 CLRP/2009-2014 TIP air quality determination - December 17, 2008
• TPB Models Development Status Report - presentation to the Travel Forecasting Subcommittee on November 21, 2008.  Slides 6-11 discuss updates to the Version 2.2 travel model, including the two-step assignment.
• FY–2008 Network Documentation: Highway and Transit Network Development – September 19, 2008.

Version 2.1D

• Status of the TPB Version 2.1D Regional Travel Model - September 17, 2004
• COG/TPB Travel Forecasting Model Version 2.1 D Draft #50 Calibration Report - November 17, 2004
• COG/TPB Travel Forecasting Model Version 2.1 D Draft #50 User's Guide - November 17, 2004
• FY-2004 Network Documentation: Highway and Transit Network Development - November 17, 2004

Data Requests

To request a copy of the regional travel demand model, various data sets, and/or documentation not found on the MWCOG website, please submit either an e-mail or a signed letter to the departmental director:

Ronald F. Kirby
Director, Department of Transportation Planning
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
777 North Capitol Street, NE
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20002

The e-mail/letter should be as specific as possible regarding what model version, data, and/or documentation is requested. The e-mail/letter should also indicate how you intend to use the data/model, naming the specific study or research project, if applicable. This will help ensure that we give you the most appropriate model or data.

COG/TPB staff will respond to your request detailing what can be provided, on what timeline and at what cost. Items that are deemed "off-the-shelf" will be sent at a minimal charge to cover shipping and handling. Custom requests will be priced according to staff time needed for preparation of the data or model.

Notes:

1. Running the travel demand model requires the use a proprietary software package that is produced, licensed, and marketed by Citilabs (e.g., TP+, Cube Voyager, and/or Cube Base). COG/TPB staff cannot provide this software.
2. We do not have the resources to staff a “help desk” for the regional travel model, so it is expected that requesters of the travel model will have the knowledge and skills to use the model with minimal assistance from the TPB staff.
3. It is the TPB staff policy to transmit only adopted travel models and adopted land activity forecasts, i.e., which have been used in a regional Air Quality Conformity Determination that has been approved by the TPB. Thus, we do not transmit developmental travel models or land activity forecasts.
• The latest travel model that is available for release to the public is Build 39 of the TPB Version 2.3 Travel Model. The latest model inputs that are available for release to the public are the Round 8.1 Cooperative Forecasts and transportation networks from the 2012 CLRP and FY 2013-2018 TIP for the following years: 2007, 2013, 2017, 2020, 2030 and 2040 (Source: Milone and Seifu. Memorandum to Files. "Transmittal of TPB Version 2.3.39 Travel Model Files." July 24, 2012.)
4. If you would like to obtain land activity forecast data for use with the regional travel demand model, please make this clear in your request. Due to differences in the way that employment is defined in the Maryland and Virginia jurisdictions, a small adjustment is made to the employment data, known as the CTPP-based employment adjustment, to make sure that employment is defined in a consistent way across the 6,800-square-mile modeled area.