“This book presents a comprehensive review of some of the most popular traffic simulation packages used in practice and in academia around the world. … an impressive collection and review of existing traffic simulation packages. … a valuable resource for transport researchers in both academic and industrial sectors. … the book attractive to readers from both the academic and the industrial sectors. … In conclusion, this book is an outstanding review of traffic simulation … .” (Andy Chow, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, Vol. 38, 2011)
“Fundamentals of Traffic Simulation presents the state of the art in traffic simulation in a useful and practical manner. … This book will be useful for practitioners, students, and researchers. … can serve as an introduction to traffic simulation, as a vehicle for selecting among the various tools, and as a comprehensive guide to current traffic simulation tools. A copy should be present in the libraries of every university’s civil engineering department and of every traffic consultancy team.” (Christine Buisson, Interfaces, Vol. 42 (5), September-October, 2012)
The increasing power of computer technologies, the evolution of software en- neering and the advent of the intelligent transport systems has prompted traf c simulation to become one of the most used approaches for traf c analysis in s- port of the design and evaluation of traf c systems. The ability of traf c simulation to emulate the time variability of traf c phenomena makes it a unique tool for capturing the complexity of traf c systems. In recent years, traf c simulation – and namely microscopic traf c simulation – has moved from the academic to the professional world. A wide variety of traf- c simulation software is currently available on the market and it is utilized by thousands of users, consultants, researchers and public agencies. Microscopic traf c simulation based on the emulation of traf c ows from the dynamics of individual vehicles is becoming one the most attractive approaches. However, traf c simulation still lacks a uni ed treatment. Dozens of papers on theory and applications are published in scienti c journals every year. A search of simulation-related papers and workshops through the proceedings of the last annual TRB meetings would support this assertion, as would a review of the minutes from speci cally dedicated meetings such as the International Symposiums on Traf c Simulation (Yokohama, 2002; Lausanne, 2006; Brisbane, 2008) or the International Workshops on Traf c Modeling and Simulation (Tucson, 2001; Barcelona, 2003; Sedona, 2005; Graz 2008). Yet, the only comprehensive treatment of the subject to be found so far is in the user’s manuals of various software products.
