TNTP Data format (XML)
In this section of the manual we discuss the TNTP (Transportation Networks) format in the context of PLANit supporting parsing this format.
This data format is specifically designed to provide a simple format for traditional (static) traffic assignment applications. It has a GitHub page: https://github.com/bstabler/TransportationNetworks with a number of predefined networks that can readily be used, some of them providing trip matrices as well.
| Data Format | Type | Status | Network | (Public Transport) Services | Zoning | Demands | Python | Java |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNTP | ASCII |
prototype | Read | N/A | Read | Read | YES | YES |
TNTP and PLANit
A TNTP to PLANit parser is supported that can be configured to parse a good number of the networks provided in this format. The main difficulty with this format is that it does not prescribe the units used, nor the order of data in the provided files. This will always require manual intervention. In our case, the user has to configure this in the settings section of the TNTP parser.
The TNTP parsers that are supported can perform the following conversions:
- TNTP trips to PLANit demands
- TNTP network/node files to PLANit (infrastructure) network
- TNTP network/trips to PLANit zoning
Outline
TNTP is an open source format for which a detailed description is available on their github page:
With respect to PLANit, this page details what our TNTP reader(s) support with respect to the data available in a typical TNTP network/trips file(s) in the outline below:
Mode support
TNTP is designed for private transport (car) assignment. Hence, PLANit will auto-activate the predefined mode car when parsing a TNTP network.
Unit support
TNTP networks are not always provided in the same units. Therefore, the TNTP parser requires the user to configure the units to align with the units in the TNTP file, such that they can be converted appropriately. Options for this are provided on the parser settings.
Column configuration
TNTP networks do not enforce a particular order in which the columns (it is a CSV like format) are to be provided. Therefore, this differs from network to network. To ensure the networks can be parsed appropriately, the user can configure the column order as part of the settings in the parser.