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Brice Nichols edited this page Aug 6, 2024 · 55 revisions

The latest model inputs are available on PSRC's FTP site.

The following table lists the directories and files in the inputs folder under the model directory root. Inputs are separated into the following directories:

  • base_year: standard inputs that are updated only when the base year is adjusted. The current base year is 2018. Some future inputs pivot off base year data, using annualized growth (e.g., external trips). These change only when new model release versions are issues. These inputs are external data provided by PSRC.
  • db: sqlite database containing a variety of standard inputs and validation data. This will be included in any standard input data provided by PSRC.
  • model: model assumptions like coefficient values, parameters, and lookup tables. These generally do not change across model years and scenarios and are part of the Soundcast codebase on GitHub.
  • scenario: when a model run is started, a scenario folder is generated and populated with inputs copied from a location as specified in the input_configuration file. (This folder does not show up before initiating a model run.) Inputs in this folder are scenario specific and include network and various land use data. These inputs are external data provided by PSRC.

This folder also contains 2 Anaconda virtual environment templates (stored on GitHub) to be used on initial setup of Soundcast.

  • environment.yml
  • summary.yml

The following details discuss the 4 input categories mentioned above in more detail.

Base Year Inputs

Name Description
all_streets_links.csv All street network links in format: from_node, to_node, length
all_streets_nodes.csv All street nodes in format: node_id, x_coord (feet), y_coord (feet)
enlisted_personnel.csv Zonal count of military personel
node_index_2018.txt Node index file
node_to_node_distance_2018.h5 Pre-computed distances between all-streets network nodes
parcel_nodes_2018.txt Nearest all-street nodes for parcels
survey 2017/2019 combined survey records used for validation and summaries

Parcel-to-Nodes File (parcel_nodes_2018.txt)

This file is ASCII delimited with a header record.

Field Valid Values Description
parcelid 1-9999999 The parcel ID number; this file must have the same number of records as the raw parcel file, with the parcel IDs in the same order
node_id 1-999999999 The ID of the nearest all-streets network node; this is an integer that does not need to be unique in this file (two or more parcels may share the same nearest node.)

Relevant DaySim configuration parameters:

  • RawParcelNodePath (string file name and path)
  • RawParcelNodeDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma)

Node Index File (node_index_2018.txt)

This file is ASCII delimited with a header record.

Field Valid values Description
ANodeID 1-9999999 The A-Node ID, from the all-streets network; for efficiency, there should be a node present in the ParcelNode file
FirstRecord 1-999999999 The position in the NodeNodeDistances file for the first record with ANodeID as the A node
LastRecord 1-999999999 The position in the NodeNodeDistances file for the last record with ANodeID as the A node (LastRecord >= FirstRecord)

Relevant DaySim configuration parameters:

  • NodeIndexPath (string file name and path)
  • NodeIndexDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma)

Node-to-Node Distance File (node_to_node_distance_2018.h5)

DaySim is designed to take advantage of more accurate distances for short distance on-street trips than are available from the TAZ-to-TAZ road network skims. These more accurate shortest-path node-to-node distances are calculated from an “All Streets Network” which is a network (as the name indicates) that consists of all the streets in the model region. A typical model network would only consist of freeways, expressways, and major and minor arterials. This coarser network cannot accurately represent the accessibility between small geographies such as parcels. These short distance microzone-level impedances are most important for non-motorized trips such as bike and walk trips. Thus, facilities such a freeways and expressways, freeway ramps, and other facilities that are not available to non-motorized modes are excluded from the all-streets based network path building. In addition, short driveways (if present) are also typically dropped from the all-streets network in order to reduce the computation burden. The modified all streets network is then used to generate node-to-node shortest path distance. These short distance impedances are directly used by the Daysim choice models, in conjunction with more typical TAZ-based impedances.

The node to node distance file needs to be updated only when there are significant changes in the all-street network (more or fewer links). As currently the node-to-node distances are created using based on shortest distance path (link length), the link attributes other than length do not matter. PSRC has a process to generate the distance file, so if an updated all-street network is available, the process can be run and an updated distance file can be generated.

This file is in HDF5 format.

Field Valid values Description
ANodeID 1-9999999 The ANode ID, from the all-streets network; for efficiency, there should be a node present in the ParcelNode file
BNodeID 1-9999999 The BNode ID, from the all-streets network; for efficiency, there should be a node present in the ParcelNode file; the file should be sorted first by ANodeID and then by BNodeID within ANodeID
Distance 1-999999999 The node-node shortest-path distance, in length units (typically feet)

Relevant DaySim configuration parameters:

  • NodeDistancesPath (string file name and path)
  • NodeDistancesDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma, 0=binary)

Database (db) Inputs

This sqlite database contains data that generally should not be updated by users. Data may be reviewed by making a local connection to the database with Python or a GUI such as DB Browser for SQLite. The table provides a brief overview of the database contents. Note that not all of the tables may be used in the latest version of Soundcast.

Table Name Data Type Description
acs_commute_mode_by_workplace_geog Validation ACS commute mode based on workplace location at the tract level
acs_commute_mode_by_home_tract Validation ACS commute mode based on home tract
auto_externals Supplemental Trip Model Productions and attractions for external zones used for supplemental trip generation
base_year_scaling Soundcast Household and population totals for 2014 and 2018 provided for scaling
bus_vehicles Air Quality used for estimating starting emissions of transit buses
daily_counts Validation Daily traffic volumes on select routes
enlisted_personnel Supplemental Trip Model Military jobs by parcel and year to account for populations outside standard synthetic population
external_trip_distribution Supplemental Trip Model trip distribution between zones and external stations derived from LEHD LODES data (2014)
externals_unadjusted Supplemental Trip Model Productions and attractions of non-work external travel
gravity_model_coefficients Supplemental Trip Model Gravity model coefficients for non-work external travel
group_quarters Supplemental Trip Model Group quarters population by TAZ
heavy_truck Supplemental Trip Model
hourly_counts Validation Hourly traffic counts for selections of links
ixxi_mode_share Supplemental Trip Model
jblm_trips Supplemental Trip Model
job_attractions Supplemental Trip Model
job_productions Supplemental Trip Model
job_trip_rates Supplemental Trip Model
light_rail_Station_boardings Validation Observed light rail boarding
mode_choice_parameters Supplemental Trip Model
observed_acs_vehicles_drivers Validation
observed_auto_ownership_acs_block_group Validation
observed_bike_volumes Validation
observed_corridor_speeds Validation
observed_external_volumes Validation
observed_lehd_district_flows Validation
observed_od_travel_times Validation
observed_screenline_volumes Validation
observed_transit_boardings Validation
parcel_2014_geography
parcel_2018_geography
parcel_2023_geography
parking_costs
parking_zones
psrc_zones
rate_adjustments
running_emission_rates
running_emission_rates_by_veh_type
seatac
special_generators
start_emission_rates
start_emission_rates_by_veh_type
taz_geography
time_of_day_factors
trip_rates
truck_inputs
truck_time_of_day_factors
vehicle_population Emissions Model Vehicles registered by type (light, medium, heavy) and county

Model Inputs

Name Description
coefficients DaySim coefficient files
intrazonals Input files for intrazonal travel time calculations
lookup land use lookup tables for land use types
roster Daysim roster files
skim_parameters Parameter settings for skimming and assignment
[summaries] Definitions for aggregation summaries
trucks Truck model inputs
vdfs Volume-delay functions

Coefficients

This directory contains 23 files providing coefficients for different DaySim models. The coefficient files are in *.F12 format and can be edited by the user for calibration purposes.

Here is a list of coefficient files in the directory:

Coefficient File Model
AutoOwnershipModel_psrcper1.F12 Auto ownership model
EscortTourModeModel.F12 Escort tour mode model
IndividualPersonDayPatternModel.F12 Individual person day pattern model
IntermediateStopGenerationModel_psrcper1.F12 Intermediate stop generation model
IntermediateStopLocationModel_psrcper1.F12 Intermediate stop location model
OtherHomeBasedTourModeModel.F12 Other home based tour mode model
OtherHomeBasedTourTimeModel.F12 Other home based tour time model
OtherTourDestinationModel.F12 Other tour destination model
PayToParkAtWorkplaceModel_psrcper1.F12 Pay to park at workplace model
PersonExactNumberOfToursModel_psrcper1.F12 Person exact number of tours model
SchoolLocationModel.F12 School location model
SchoolTourModeModel.F12 School tour mode model
SchoolTourTimeModel.F12 School tour time model
TransitPassOwnershipModel.F12 Transit pass ownership model
TripModeModel.F12 Trip mode model
TripTimeModel.F12 Trip time model
WorkbasedSubtourGenerationModel.F12 Work-based subtour generation model
WorkBasedSubtourModeModel.F12 Work-based subtour mode model
WorkBasedSubtourTimeModel.F12 Work-based subtour time model
WorkLocationModel.F12 Work location model
WorkTourDestinationModel_psrcper1.F12 Work tour destination model
WorkTourModeModel.F12 Work tour mode model
WorkTourTimeModel.F12 Work tour time model

Emissions

This folder contains vehicle emissions rates which have moved to the soundcast sqlite database in most recent versions. See definitions in the database table above.

Intrazonals

This directory contains files for intrazonal travel time calculations.

File Name Description
destination_tt.in Terminal times (in minutes) destination/attraction trip end
origin_tt.in Terminal times (in minutes) origin/production trip end
taz_acres.in Zone area in acres

Lookup

This directory contains a variety of a lookup data tables, often used for legacy summaries. Many are no longer used. User should refer instead to data tables in the soundcast sqlite database for validation and observed data.

Roster

This directory contains mode and path type roster files that relates Daysim to assignment skims. Additionally, due to hard-coded limitations in Daysim, skim outputs for each time-of-day assignment period are located within this folder in h5 format.

Both the roster and roster combination files described below are generated from the CSV files in the inputs\model\roster\templates directory. These files are built dynamically based on model settings defined in input_configuration.py and emme_configuration.py. This allows users to add or remove certain modes like TNCs and AVs through a single configuration setting, without making multiple changes throughout the model setup. Please note that if any changes are made to these files, they must be made to those in the templates directory, which will overwrite and CSVs in the higher level directory (inputs\model\roster).

Roster File (psrc_roster.csv)

The roster file is a convenient and flexible way to define which skim matrices are used for all modes/path types and level-of-service (LOS) variables for all times of day. The file is a CSV file with a header record.

Field Description
#variable Skim variable label, as referred to in the DaySim code
mode Skim mode label, as referred to in the DaySim code and present in the Roster Combinations file (walk, bike, SOV, HOV2, HOV3, transit, park-and-ride, school-bus, or other)
path-type Path type label, as refereed to in the DaySim code, and the mode/path type combination must be TRUE in the Roster Combinations file (full-network, no-tolls, local-bus, light-rail, premium-bus, commuter-rail, or ferry)
vot-group Value of time class, with boundaries set in the properties file; valid values are very-low, low, medium, high, very-high, or all
start-minute First minute for which skim applies, in minutes past midnight
end-minute Last minute for which skim applies, in minutes past midnight; if lower than start-minute, then period spans midnight
length The “zone” system used for the matrix; “maxzone” uses Zone, “transitstop” uses TransitStopArea, “null” returns a value of 0 instead of reading in a matrix (in which case the “file-type” and “name” columns should also be “null”)
File-type The format of the file (text-ij, TransCAD, Cube, Emme, VISUM-binary, HDF5, OMX, BIN, or null)
name The matrix file name (plus the table name for HDF5 or OMX files); the directory path is assumed to be the same as for the Roster file
field The matrix number on the file for the particular variable; for “text-ij,” it is the column number; for “Cube,” it is the Cube matrix number
transpose If TRUE, DaySim will use the transpose of the matrix that is read in; this indicates that the origin and destination zones for the matrix should be “switched” and the transpose should be used
blend-variable This is the variable to use for “short-distance blending;” it is only relevant for the walk, bike, and auto modes, but not for transit; in practice, this should always be set as “distance," which is what the DaySim code assumes
blend-path-type This is the path type to use for “short-distance blending;" if it is set to “null,” then DaySim assumes that the “blend-path-type” is the same as the “path-type” entry on the same row
factor A factor to be applied to the matrix (e.g., 20 to turn walk distance to time); if null, then factor is 1
scaling If TRUE, matrix is scaled by 100 before being stored as a 2-byte integer; BIN matrices are assumed to already be scaled

DaySim Roster Combinations File (psrc-roster.combinations.csv)

The roster combinations file is used with the Roster file to determine which mode-path type combinations are valid in the Roster file. A “path type” is essentially a “submode” in DaySim, such as tolled versus nontolled networks for auto modes or local bus versus light rail (plus optional bus) networks for transit. The file has columns that enumerate the nine modes used in the current model system (walk, bike, SOV, HOV2, HOV3, transit, park-and-ride, school-bus, and other) and seven rows that enumerate the path types currently used (full-network, no-tolls, local-bus, light-rail, premium-bus, commuter rail, ferry). The cells are TRUE for valid combinations within DaySim and FALSE otherwise.

Here is an example of the file:

# Walk Bike SOV HOV2 HOV3 Transit Park-and-Ride School Bus Other
Full-Network TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE TRUE FALSE
No-Tolls FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
Local-Bus FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE
Light-Rail FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE
Premium-Bus FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE
Commuter-Rail FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE
Ferry FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE

Skim Parameters

This directory contains settings for skimming and assignment with multiple directories. The directory location and function of each file is noted below:

Folder File Description
auto attribute_based_skim.json
auto path_based_assignment.json
auto path_based_generalized_cost.json
auto path_based_volume.json
lookup demand_crosswalk_ab_4k_dictionary.json
lookup intrazonal_dictionary.json
lookup link_calculation.json
lookup time_of_day.txt
lookup time_of_day_crosswalk_ab_4k_dictionary.json
lookup time_of_day_crosswalk_ab_4k_dictionary.json
nonmotor bike_assignment.json
nonmotor bike_network_setup.json
nonmotor bike_skim_setup.json
nonmotor bike_walk_assignment.json
nonmotor bike_walk_matrix_dict.json
templates demand_matrix_dictionary_template.txt
templates matrix_balancing_spec.json
templates matrix_calc_spec.json
templates matrix_calculation.json
templates node_calculation.json
templates transit_line_calculation.json
templates user_class_template.json
transit extended_transit_assignment_bus.json
transit extended_transit_assignment_commuter_rail.json
transit extended_transit_assignment_ferry.json
transit extended_transit_assignment_light_rail.json
transit extended_transit_assignment_passenger_ferry.json
transit transit_fare_dictionary.json
transit transit_fare_dictionary_old.json
transit transit_line_definition.json
transit transit_path_analysis.json
transit transit_skim_aggregate_matrix_names.json
transit transit_skim_setup_bus.json
transit transit_skim_setup_commuter_rail.json
transit transit_skim_setup_ferry.json
transit transit_skim_setup_light_rail.json
transit transit_skim_setup_passenger_ferry.json

These files are available in the skim_parameters root:

File Description
demand_matrix_dictionary.txt
emme_bank_dimensions.json
skim_template.py
user_classes.json

Summaries

This folder contains files necessary to produce summaries, particularly the various aggregations produced on Daysim outputs.

File Description
agg_expressions.csv Aggregation definitions
geography_lookup.csv Intermediate calculations to join data by geography
variables.csv Intermediate variable definitions

Trucks

This directory contains data and settings for the truck model.

Name Description
input_skims.txt
truck_distances.ens
truck_matrices.csv

VDFs

Volume-delay functions by time of day.

Scenario Inputs

Note that scenario inputs should be stored in a standard location for Soundcast to access when run. Inputs are automatically copied to the Soundcast working directory when a model is run. The input location is specified based on the variables "main_inputs" folder and "scenario_name" in input_configuration.py.

Name Description
landuse Landuse inputs
networks Network inputs

Networks

The following table lists the network-related inputs. When Soundcast is run, network data are copied to inputs\scenario\networks and include the following files and folders:

Files

Name Type Description
headways.csv CSV Headways for each transit line, columns for each time period (e.g., hdw_5to6)
modes.txt Emme Emme mode strings used for assignment (included some outdated modes no longer assigned)
p_r_nodes.csv CSV Identifies network nodes as park and ride locations. Includes parking capacity and cost
TAZIndex.txt Tab-delimited Lookup between ordinal value and TAZ ID. Identifies zones as external or destination eligible for Daysim.
transit_stops.csv CSV List of transit stop locations with flags for transit submode (bus, commuter_rail, ferry, etc.)
vehicles.txt Emme Transit vehicle characteristics for Emme

Extra Attributes

Extra attributes are available for each aggregate time of day assignment (AM, PM, etc.). Each time period folder contains two files: - extra_links_x.txt - extra_nodes_x.txt

Where the value of x corresponds to increasing assignment periods (1: AM, 2: MD, etc.). Each link attribute file contains a set of attributes available in Emme, including information about facility type, county location, corresponding observed count IDs, corridor flags, upslope (for bikes), bike facility types, and tolls.

Fares

The following table lists input files providing transit fares, by transit zones:

File Description
am_fares_farebox.in AM off-peak farebox fares (2018 dollars); the structure of the file: origin zone, destination zone, fare($)
md_fares_farebox.in MD off-peak farebox fares (2018 dollars); the structure of the file: origin zone, destination zone, fare($)
am_fares_monthly_pass.in AM peak monthly pass cost (2018 dollars); the structure of the file: origin zone, destination zone, pass cost($)
md_fares_monthly_pass.in MD off-peak monthly pass cost (2018 dollars); the structure of the file: origin zone, destination zone, pass cost($)
transit_fare_zones.grt Transit fare zones: gt1 (seattle ride free), gt2 (seattle), gt3 (king county), gt4 (everett transit), gt5 (snohomish county), gt6 (pierce county), gt7 (kitsap county), gt8 (kitsap - walk to ferry)

Roadway

Emme-formatted transaction file for all network links and nodes, for 5 aggregate assignment periods. These files include nodes at the top of the file followed by link information.

Variable Description
Typ Flag used to assign links to active network (90); other values are used to designate links as part of screenlines
Lan Number of lanes
VDF Volume delay function type
Data1/ul1 Roadway Capacity in Vehicles per Hour
Data2/ul2 Speed Limit
Data3/ul3 Facility Type

Facility types are defined as follows:

Value Description
0 Ferry, bike, walk
1 Freeway
2 Expressway
3 Urban 2-way arterials
4 Urban 1-way arterials
5 Centroid connectors
6 Rural 2-way arterials

Shape

Emme-formatted files that incorporate link geometry for 5 time periods

Shapefiles

Edges (link) and junctions (nodes) are also available in a shapefile format for 5 time periods. These files also contain additional data not included in the *.in files. A more detailed facility type definition is available in the FacilityTy field.

FacilityTy Description
1 Interstate
2 Other Freeway
3 Expressway
4 Ramp
5 Principal Arterial
6 Minor Arterial
7 Major Collector
8 Minor Collector
9 Local
10 Busway
11 Non-Motor
12 Light Rail
13 Commuter Rail
15 Ferry
16 Passenger Only Ferry
17 Centroid Connector
18 Facility Connector
19 HOV Only Freeway
20 HOV Only Ramp

Transit

Emme-formatted transit line segment information for the 4 time periods in which transit is assigned.

Turns

Emme-formatted turn transaction files for 5 time periods.

Park-and-Ride Nodes (p_r_Nodes.csv)

This file is for park and ride lot/path choice in DaySim. This file is an ASCII delimited file with a header record.

Field Valid Values Description
Node_ID 1-9999999 The park-and-ride node ID number; values must be unique positive integers, in ascending order
Zone_ID 1-9999999 The zone that the lot is associated in; must be a zone ID present in the raw zone file; may be either an internal (destination-eligible zone) or a special park-and-ride zone that allows more accurate zone-to-zone skims for park and ride
xcoord 1–9999999 The x coordinate of the lot, in integer-length units (typically SPF)
ycoord 1–9999999 The y coordinate of the lot, in integer-length units (typically SPF)
capacity 0–9999999 The number of parking spaces in the lot. A value of 0 makes the lot unavailable as a choice option, but can be useful for including a lot as a placeholder for future/alternative scenarios
cost 0–9999999 The daily parking cost for the lot, in hundredths of monetary units (typically this is cents)

Relevant DaySim configuration parameters:

  • RawParkAndRideNodePath (string file name and path)
  • RawParkAndRidePathDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma)
  • ShouldReadParkAndRideNodeSkim (if true, DaySim will get park and ride mode LOS from zone-to-zone skims listed in the Roster, rather than using lot/path choice)
  • MaximumMilesToDriveToParkAndRide (to save run time, a limit on the drive search radius for park-and-ride lot/path choice)
  • MaximumRatioDriveToParkAndRdieVersusDriveToDestination (to save run time and avoid illogical lot choices, a limit on the ratio of the drive access distance to park-and-ride and the drive access distance to the final destination)

Zone File (TAZIndex.txt)

This file indicates to DaySim which zone numbers are valid. If there are gaps in the zone numbering (unused zone numbers), then this file is used to set up a mapping from the nominal zone numbers to an internal zone numbering that is used to reduce the amount of memory required to save zone-to-zone skim matrices.

The file is ASCII delimited with a header record.

Field Valid Values Description
Zone_ID 1 – 9999999 The zone ID number used in the network software that produces skims; values must be unique positive integers, in ascending order.
Zone_ordinal 1 – 9999999 A zone index number internal to DaySim, which is mapped to Zone_id; values must be unique positive integers in ascending order; values will generally begin at 1 with no gaps in numbering, although gaps are allowed
Dest_eligible 0 or 1 A binary variable indicating whether or not a zone is eligible as a destination in Daysim; zones that are not eligible as destinations include external zones or special park-and-ride lot zones
External 0 – 99 This variable was originally used as a binary variable to indicate external zones, but was not used in the DaySim code; it is now used to indicate a district mapping of the zones; including district mapping is optional and only necessary if ODShadowPricing is used or if there are other region-specific variables that are district-based
xcoord 1 – 9999999 This variable is optional and only needed if transit stop areas are used for transit skims; the x coordinate of the zone centroid, in integer length units (typically SPF)
ycoord 1 – 9999999 This variable is optional and only needed if transit stop areas are used for transit skims; the x coordinate of the zone centroid, in integer length units (typically SPF)

Relevant DaySim configuration parameters include the following:

  • RawZonePath (string file name and path)
  • RawZoneDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma)

Land Use

2018

The following table lists land-use inputs for a scenario; in the beginning of a model run, these inputs are copied to corresponding directories.

File Description
hh_and_persons.h5 Synthetic person and household data
parcels_urbansim.txt Primary parcel file with all land-use data

Primary Parcel File (parcels_urbansim.txt)

This file is ASCII delimited with a header record. Real>=0 indicates a non-negative number that does not need to be an integer value.

Field Valid Values Description
PARCELID 1-9999999 The parcel ID number; values must be unique positive integers, in ascending order (gaps are permitted, but are not efficient for memory)
XCOORD_P 1-999999999 The x coordinate of the parcel centroid, in integer length units (typically SPF)
YCOORD_P 1-999999999 The y coordinate of the parcel centroid, in integer length units (typically SPF)
SQFT_P 0-999999999 The area of the parcel, in thousands of square-length units (typically sqft, does not need to be an integer)
TAZ_P 1-9999999 The zone that the parcel is in; must be a valid zone_id in the “zone” file
LUTYPE_P 0-9999999 A land-use type value; see this page for variable definitions
HH_P Real >=0 The number of households residing on a parcel
STUGRD_P Real >=0 The number of grade school (K-8) students enrolled in schools on a parcel
STUHGH_P Real >=0 The number of high school (9-12) students enrolled in schools on a parcel; if this is not available separately, then set to 0 and put the number of K-12 students in stugrd_p
STUUNI_P Real >=0 The number of university/college students enrolled in schools on a parcel
EMPEDU_P Real >=0 The number of educational employees working on a parcel
EMPFOO_P Real >=0 The number of food service employees working on a parcel
EMPGOV_P Real >=0 The number of government employees working on a parcel
EMPIND_P Real >=0 The number of industrial employees working on a parcel
EMPMED_P Real >=0 The number of medical employees working on a parcel
EMPOFC_P Real >=0 The number of (other) office employees working on a parcel
EMPRET_P Real >=0 The number of retail employees working on a parcel
EMPSVC_P Real >=0 The number of (other) service employees working on a parcel
EMPRSC_P Real >=0 The number of retail and service employees working on a parcel; DaySim does not use this category
EMPOTH_P Real >=0 The number of other sector employees working on a parcel; typically contains construction, agriculture, and mining
EMPTOT_P Real >=0 The total number of employees working on a parcel; should equal the sum of the nine previous fields
PARKDY_P Real >=0 The number of paid public off-street parking spaces on a parcel with per-day pricing (May overlap with parkhr_p if have both types of pricing)
PARKHR_P Real >=0 The number of paid public off-street parking spaces on a parcel with per-hour pricing (May overlap with parkdy_p if have both types of pricing.)
PPRICDYP Real >=0 The average price of public off-street parking spaces on a parcel with per-day pricing (In cents per day)
PPRICHRP Real >=0 The average price of public off-street parking spaces on a parcel with per-hour pricing (In cents per hour)
APARKS Real >=0 Publicly accessible open-space area on a parcel
NPARKS Real >=0 The number of publicly accessible open space areas on a parcel

The accessibility calculations use this parcel file and produce a buffered parcel file (buffered_parcels.dat) that is then used by DaySim. The relevant DaySim configuration parameters for the buffered parcel file include the following:

  • RawParcelPath (string file name and path)
  • RawParcelDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma)
  • UseShortDistanceNodeToNodeMeasures (set True if node distance files are available)
  • UseShortDistanceCircuityMeasures (set True if circuity measures are available on the parcel file; the NodeToNodeMeasures setting takes precedence over this one)
  • MaximumBlendingDistance (the maximum distance, in miles, to which the short-distance measures are used to adjust zone-to-zone skim-based travel times)

Synthetic Population (hh_and_persons.h5)

Household

Field Valid Values Description
hhno 1 - 9999999 The household ID number; values must be unique positive integers and should be in ascending order
hhsize 1 – 99 The number of persons in the household; must equal the number of person records for the household in the raw person file
hhvehs 0 - 99 The number of autos in the household; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhwkrs 0 – 99 The number of workers in the household; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim from the person records
hhftw 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=full-time worker; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhptw 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=part-time worker; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhret 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=retired adult; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhoad 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=other non-working adult; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhuni 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=university student; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhhsc 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=grade school student age 16+; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hh515 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=child age 5-15; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhcu5 0 – 99 The number of HH members with person type=child age 0-4; this could be made optional as input, as it is computed by DaySim
hhincome -1 – 9999999 The household annual income, in integer dollars; a negative value is interpreted as missing data in DaySim estimation mode
hhownrent 1 – 9 Household own versus rent status; this could be made optional as input, as it is not currently used in the DaySim model code
hhrestype 1 – 9 Household residence building type; this could be made optional as input, as it is not currently used in the DaySim model code
hhparcel 1 – 9999999 The ID of the parcel on which the household lives; must be a parcel ID found in the raw parcel file
hhhtaz 1 – 9999999 The ID of the zone in which the household lives; this could be made optional as input, as the parcel file has the parcel-zone correspondence
hhexpfac Real >= 0 The expansion factor for the household; a non-negative real number that is typically 1.0 in a synthetic population
samptype 0 - 99 The type of sample used; this could be made optional as input, as it is not used in the DaySim model code, but can be useful with survey data in model estimation to identify different sample types

Relevant DaySim configuration parameters:

  • RawHouseholdPath (string file name and path)
  • RawHouseholdDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma)

Person

Field Valid Values Description
hhno 1 - 9999999 The household ID number; values must be unique positive integers, and should be in ascending order; must be present in the Household file
pno 1 – 99 The person sequence number within the household; values must be unique positive integers within a household, and in ascending order from 1 up to “hhsize” in the Household file
pptyp 1 - 8 Person type (1=full time worker, 2=part time worker, 3=non-worker age 65+, 4=other non-working adult, 5=university student, 6=grade school student/child age 16+, 7=child age 5-15, 8=child age 0-4); this could be made optional and computed within DaySim for synthetic populations based on ACS PUMS; for other survey data, the coding and rules may be more variable and better done outside DaySim
pagey 0 – 99 Age in years (integer)
pgend 1 – 9 Gender (1=male, 2=female, 9=missing data for estimation)
pwtyp 0 - 2 Worker type (0=non-worker, 1=full time worker, 2=part time worker)
pwpcl -1 - 9999999 Usual work location parcel ID; -1 for none/missing, otherwise must be a valid parcel ID present in the Parcel file
pwtaz -1 - 9999999 Usual work location zone ID; this could be made optional as input as the Parcel file has the parcel-zone correspondence
pwautime -1 - 9999999 The one-way peak auto travel time between the residence and usual work parcels; a real number of minutes, -1 if no usual work location; could be made optional as input, used as output for calibration
pwautime -1 - 9999999 The one-way peak auto travel distance between the residence and usual work parcels; a real number of miles, -1 if no usual work location; could be made optional as input, used as output for calibration
prace 1- 7 Person race; see Person Race Characteristics definitions in table below
pstyp 0 - 2 Worker type (0=non-student, 1=full time student, 2=part time student if known – part-time distinction not used in DaySim code)
pspcl -1 - 9999999 Usual school location parcel ID; -1 for none/missing, otherwise must be a valid parcel ID present in the Parcel file
pstaz -1 - 9999999 Usual school location zone ID; this could be optional as input, as the Parcel file has the parcel-zone correspondence
psautime -1 - 9999999 The one-way peak auto travel time between the residence and usual school parcels; a real number of minutes, -1 if no usual school location; could be made optional as input, used as output for calibration
psautime -1 - 9999999 The one-way peak auto travel distance between the residence and usual school parcels; a real number of miles, -1 if no usual school location; could be made optional as input, used as output for calibration
puwmode -1 – 9 The usual mode used to work; this is optional as it is a placeholder for possible models that may be added to DaySim in the future
puwarrp -1 – 9 The usual arrival period at work; this is optional as it is a placeholder for possible models that may be added to DaySim in the future
puwdepp -1 – 9 The usual departure period from work; this is optional as it is a placeholder for possible models that may be added to DaySim in the future
ptpass 0 – 1 Transit pass ownership (0=no, 1=yes); this is computed by DaySim and could be made an optional input in application mode
ppaidprk 0 – 1 Worker has to pay to park at work (0=no, 1=yes); this is computedby DaySim and could be made an optional input in application mode
pdiary 0 – 1 Survey respondent used their diary? (0=no, 1=yes); this is only relevant for survey data in estimation and could be made optional in application mode
pproxy 0 – 1 Survey responses by proxy? (1=no, 2=yes, 3=by mail, 9=missing); this is only relevant for survey data in estimation and could be made optional in application mode
psexpfac Real >= 0 The expansion factor for the person; a non-negative real number; in application mode, this could be made optional since it is set equal to hhexpfac

Relevant DaySim configuration parameters:

  • RawPersonPath (string file name and path)
  • RawPersonDelimiter (ASCII code, 9=tab, 32=space, 44=comma)

Person Race Characteristics

Value Description
1 White alone non-Hispanic
2 Black or African American alone non-Hispanic
3 Asian alone non-Hispanic
4 Some Other Race alone non-Hispanic
5 Two or More Races non-Hispanic
6 White Hispanic
7 Non-white Hispanic
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