Statewide and Mega-Regional Travel Forecasting Models: Freight and Passenger

Two decades ago, statewide models in the U.S. were rather the exception. Today, the majority of states in the U.S. maintains statewide transportation models, often providing the most important analysis tool for the statewide long-range transportation plan. NCHRP Synthesis 358 provided an excellent overview on the state of statewide modeling back in 2006. The field has changed dramatically over the last decade, including the introduction of integrated land use models, economic and environmental impact models, dynamic traffic assignments, and new forms of data collection and availability.

Together with Dr. Rick Donnelly from Parsons Brinckerhoff, we conducted a survey among all 50 U.S. states to understand the current state of practice in travel demand modeling. The survey also asked for the analytical requirements that statewide models have to fulfill. Data requirements and emerging practices were addressed as well.