​Abu Dhabi School Transport
Modelling Enhancement for School Trips
The project focuses on the modelling enhancement of school transport trips within the broader STEAM+ strategic transportation model for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The aim was to improve the accuracy of school trip estimations and distributions, incorporating student-specific characteristics such as nationality and school curriculum, reflecting actual travel behaviour, school capacity, and policy constraints (e.g., district-based allocations for government schools).
The enhancement included a more disaggregated demand segmentation: students were divided into 7 nationality groups and 7 curriculum groups, with a total of 49 combinations. This was grounded within a large dataset of over 400,000 student records with actual home-school locations. The calibration observed school bus usage and curriculum-nationality breakdowns, ensuring it reflected the real-world circumstances.
citiME was the main technical consultant involved in the design, implementation, calibration, and delivery of the enhanced model.
The challenges addressed by this project were centered around the limitations of the existing school transport modelling approach in the STEAM framework. The goal was to improve accuracy, realism, and policy alignment in how school trips were represented in the strategic transport model.
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We aimed to improve trip estimation and to ensure students—especially in public schools—are assigned to nearby schools according to policy. We also sought to refine mode choice modelling using observed data and to strengthen model calibration with real student data. Ultimately, our objective was to create a robust tool to support school planning, transport investment, and sustainability strategies.
The project has clear environmental and sustainability aspects, primarily through its impact on school transport efficiency and mode choice. Improved accuracy in modelling school bus usage supports better bus routing and policy design to encourage bus use over cars.
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