PT from OpenStreetMap

Introduction#

This tutorial shows you how to build a public transit (PT) simulation scenario from scratch using an OpenStreetMap file as the only input. If you are new to OpenStreetMap in conjunction with SUMO you will also find the OSM tutorial helpful.

The creation of PT simulation consists of two steps:

  1. Initial network and public transit information extraction
  2. Finding feasible stop-to-stop travel times and creating PT schedules

Note

If you use the osmWebWizard tool, these steps are performed automatically, when you select the checkbox Import Public Transport.

Initial network and public transit information extraction#

In the first step PT stops and line information will be extracted. The step is performed by invoking netconvert as follows

netconvert --osm-files osm.xml -o net.net.xml --osm.stop-output.length 20 
    --ptstop-output additional.xml --ptline-output ptlines.xml

, where

  • --osm-files osm.xml points to the OpenStreetMap file
  • -o net.net.xml points to the to-be-generated SUMO network file
  • --osm.stop-output.length 20 defines the length of the PT stop platforms in meter
  • --ptstop-output additional.xml points to the to-be-generated PT stop file
  • --ptline-output ptlines.xml points to an intermediate file defining the PT lines.

Finding feasible stop-to-stop travel times and creating PT schedules#

The second step is to run a python script that performs the following:

  1. To determine feasible stop-to-stop travel times, a simulation run is performed with one PT vehicle for each PT line.
  2. The PT schedule (regular interval timetable) for all lines is created from the stop-to-stop travel time information.

The stop-to-stop travel times are determined on an empty network. It will be straightforward to extend the script so the stop-to-stop travel times a determined for an existing transport model. This, however, is beyond the scope of this tutorial. The steps are performed by invoking the ptlines2flows.py script as follows

python tools/ptlines2flows.py -n net.net.xml -s additional.xml -l ptlines.xml 
    -o flows.rou.xml -p 600 --use-osm-routes

, where

  • -n net.net.xml points to the SUMO network previously created with netconvert
  • -s additional.xml points to the PT stop file created with netconvert
  • -l ptlines.xml points to the PT lines definition file created with netconvert
  • "-o flows.rou.xml'' points to the to-be-generated route files for the PT vehicles
  • "-p 600" is the period for the regular interval time table in seconds
  • "--use-osm-routes" means the script will adopt the pt routes from osm.xml rather then creating new shortest path routes between stops