ASSIST-ME

This paper presents Advanced Software for Statewide Integrated Sustainable Transportation System Monitoring and Evaluation (ASSIST-ME), an application for visualizing and analyzing the output of transportation planning models in a geographic information system environment. ASSIST-ME was developed on a customized version of the ArcGIS 9.2 Developer Engine in the Microsoft .NET Framework. The tool is built on a flexible framework that allows for adoption of any traditional transportation planning model, as demonstrated with the output of two major transportation planning models on different software platforms: the New York Best Practice Model, running in TransCAD, and the North Jersey Regional Transportation Model-Enhanced, running in CUBE. ASSIST-ME allows agencies and planners to easily work with transportation planning model output, analysis of which is often time-consuming and requires extensive training. It offers four key functionalities: data visualization, demand analysis, path analysis, and benefit-cost analysis. Data visualization and demand analysis enable the user to work easily with direct model output; the custom path and cost analysis tools support analyses beyond those possible with other software packages. The benefit-cost analysis functions utilize the latest quantification-monetization approaches employed in research and by government agencies and require no external applications or procedures. This process can be used for any planning scenario, but ASSIST-ME also allows for customization to modify input data or analysis procedures according to the user's needs. ASSIST-ME incorporates data visualization, data analysis, and output reporting functionalities in a single user-friendly setting that requires minimal training or knowledge of the models themselves.