Greyveils Transportation Tutorial

[greyveil 37]

Efficient Transit Tutorial

Due to all the requests for advice for commute and mass transit networks I have decided to create a general tutorial for placing these items.

When creating an efficient (and affective) mass transit or network system there are 2 rules to follow:

1. Flow: your network must flow the sims have to be able to seamlessly change multiple transit switches in a trip, i.e bus to subway to bus, ect.

2. Placement: the placement of stations and onramps is key to creating good flow and pursuading your sims to take the routes you want them to.

In the following examples I will be using the Roadtop Mass transit mod for bus stops and subways and various other custom lots from here and there however, the stations and stops you use should not make a difference (except for capacity limits).

one other thing before we begin, this has been stressed several times throughout the forums and I will stress it here again, BUS STOPS, Bus Stops, and more bus stops! if you think you have enough bus stops, build a few more, lol

Table of contents:

A: Basic Network Flow Principles: Streets to Roads to Avenues
B: Basic Mass Transit Flow Principles: Buses to Subways and Trains
C: Adding Highways to the Mix, Transversing the Region

---

A: Basic Network Flow Principles: Streets to Roads to Avenues

     Think of your network system as a funnel, with the little end toward your residential areas and the fat end is the main arteries of your network, always place networks slowest to fastest. key #1, Bottlenecks are bad, a bottleneck is when you have a strip of slow network between 2 strips of faster network.

     The following pictures depict basic flow theory and I will walk you thru step by step to insure understanding, some of these concepts are already    familiar, but I am trying to make sure all topics are covered (and before posting comments like , this is griddy, I hate grids, remember this is a tutorial not a CJ I am using grids as the simpleist form of instruction, these concepts are easily adapted to a non grid layout, in most cases)
 
  Diag 1. basic street layout (very little explaination required)

 

Diag 2. Now we will add a road running thru our streets to connect to the main artery (in this case Avenue, we will cover others later in the tutorial)

 

Diag 3. Notice the placements of the bustops, sims will only walk a short distance (about 6 tiles) so it is important to always place your bustops with this in mind. notice also that the busstops are placed in such a way that they are between the zones and the direction of the main artery, so the last thing the Sim passes before he starts traveling on the main road, is a bustop.

 

 

Diag 4. Now we will connect our road to the main artery (in this case an Avenue)

 

 

Diag 5. Now we will add a little Commercial zoning and a bustop/subway piece (even though we have not placed any subway lines yet I go ahead and place these type of pieces on the main artery so I don't have to come back later and bulldoze and replace, we will discuss this later)

 

 

 

Also notice in the previous Diag, that I have placed a crossroad on the avenue after the commercial zones, this is very important, the avenue is essentially 2 one-way roads and you must provide cross streets (or roads) in order for Sims to make a return trip in the shortest possible time, otherwise if the avenue was really long, the Sim would have to travel a great distance just to get home (or to work)

 

Diag 6. Ok now we will place a few industrial zones at the edge of the map, notice again the placement of the bustops and the 6 tile ped rule.

           (you will also notice the rail line I have already placed, forget about that for now, we will cover this later in the tutorial)

 

 

Diag 7. Overview of the area we are working with (self explanitory)

 

 

Diags 8, 9, & 10. Now we will turn the simulator on for a couple of months and show a few transit Query pics, notice the ratio of bus to car traffic.

 

 

 

 

 

ok, thats it for part 1. (the forums tend to have issues with posts that are too long, lol) next we will expand on the flow theory and show how to expand our network without creating unwanted bottlenecks.

 

any suggestions for additional parts is highly welcome, also any contributions on the currently discussed part of the tutorial is also welcome, also try to include pictures of concepts (but lets not get ahead of the discussion) also please limit the random comments so we can keep this clean for people trying to follow the tutorial, thanx

 

Until next time....

[Chris M 406]

 Great work, Greyviel, the noobs will be happy !

[RadioheadFan 1]

Date: 3/18/2005 8:03:49 PM
Author: ЮàgÕÑÅÑÌMĖ
Great work, Greyviel, the noobs will be happy !

quote>

Hahaha...does the Road-Top mod affect any attributes of the bus stops whatsoever? And what about when the area gets richer? Rich Sims hate bus stops, how will you make a smooth transition? I guess there's more to come...

RHF

[+Guest]

Great job but I got one question.How did you get the Cul-De-Sac Mod to work?.I have tried several times but no go.

[Chris M 406]

Date: 3/18/2005 8:12:29 PM Author: RadioheadFan

Date: 3/18/2005 8:03:49 PM Author: ЮàgÕÑÅÑÌMĖ Great work, Greyviel, the noobs will be happy !

quote> Hahaha...does the Road-Top mod affect any attributes of the bus stops whatsoever? And what about when the area gets richer? Rich Sims hate bus stops, how will you make a smooth transition? I guess there's more to come... RHF

quote>

Of course they hate Bus stops there is a homeless person on there every once in a while..They just drive to work with there Mercedes or their BMW....

[greyveil 37]

A: Basic Network Flow Principles: Streets to Roads to Avenues (continued)

Ok, now we will concentrate on expanding our network, always keeping our mind on where our future expansions might take us, by doing this we are less likely to have to bulldoze and rebuild to fix future traffic issues (although no layout is perfect and some future network tweaking is always required)

 

Diag 11. Expanding our current residential layout (again I am using grids here, but this expansion could easily also be culdesacs and     curvy streets as long as you keep an eye out for bottlenecks)

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/3462/residentialexpansion15su.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 12. Closeup of expanded commercial zoning (notice the continuation of the crossroads even though I have no development on the otherside of the avenue)

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/6814/closeupofmainartery15yu.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 13. Residential expansion 2, we will eventually want apartment buildings here on the waterfront, but the important thing to note here is that I did not use a street because I plan on using this road to continue to other areas and did not want to cause a bottleneck and you will also notice the bustops are not directly in front of the zones because the zone would not develop if they were (this is a bug with the RTMT mod, if you are using the regular bustops/subways you could stagger or place them on the sides) but I will use these empty areas later to place parks, basketball/tennis courts, ect, to promote growth)

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/3339/residentialexpansion32uj.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 14. Overview pic of area (self explanatory)

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/1774/networkwideview27ts.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 15. now we run the simulator again and update the Transit Query pic

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/3411/transitqueryresidential26vr.jpg align=baseline>

 

notice our continuing theme of mass transit usage? I also added a few more industrial zones in the industrial area (not pictured) I will show this in future updates when we discuss rail expansions.

 

Next up: we will be adding trains to the mix, since there are several issues related to rail usage and placement it will be broken up into several sections so we can cover all topics as indepth as possible.

 

See ya then...

 

 

 

 

[greyveil 37]

B: Basic Mass Transit Flow Principles: Buses to Subways and Trains (Part 1)

Because there are many rail possibilities this section of the tutorial will have many parts hopefully we will touch on as many of the situations you will encounter, first I will make a few points.

 

  1. always try to centralize your station in the area you want the use in, preferably connected to a main artery.

  2. always surround the station with multiple transit switch points (i.e. busstops, subway, parking garage) these are essential to ensure

      your Sims will use the station.

  3. make your rail lines as straight as possible, rail is the best choice for fast cheap transit, you want to keep it that way, too many

      twists and turns between stations will lenghthen the commute.

 

Diag 16. First we will place a standard passenger train station in a central location of our industrial sector, in this example I have placed the station on the existing rail line and brought the road to it (remember my point on twist and turns) I have also placed a bustop/subway piece at the front of the station.

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/174/industrialtrainstation1nu.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 17. Now I place a passenger station in our residential section, now in this case I am using a custom lot that has multiple switch points built in so I don't need to add any around it (and for those of you that are going to ask, it can be found on the Stex)

MTNH TramTrain Station ver. 0 by caghaasnoot

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/57/residentialtrainstation4vz.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 18. Overview of the newly placed rail stations (self explainatory)

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/6323/networkwideview33sa.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 19. Transit Query of rail line.

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/3627/transitquerywideview24px.jpg align=baseline>

 

At this point a few stats for the city, Population 2,947 Traffic volume: Ped 925, Bus 925, Train 532, Car 60

 

always run your simulator a few months after placing the station to make sure you have a good location before building up around it.

 

Diag 20. Now that our first rail line is in business we can start planning our zones around it, you will notice in this diagram a series on roads layed next to each other, This is where my future highway is planned, I use this method to define future expansion, there are several different methods to this type of planning, use whatever feels comfortable, Just always try to keep in mind where future development will take you.

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/9316/residentialexpansion49cp.jpg align=baseline>

 

as before I am using the same zoning style to keep it simple, you will notice the feeder theme, street to road to avenue with bus stops in between.

 

Diag 21. Overview with the new zones added.

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/1480/networkwideview42gn.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 22. Transit Query after a few months of game time.

 

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/8681/transitqueryresidential34pr.jpg align=baseline> 

 

At this point we will take a break, next up we will be expanding our zones adding population so we can expand our rail line and add subway service.

 

See you then...

 

[Equinox 1,209]

This is awesome, well-thought-out, and well-written, too.
Even 'advanced' players could benefit from some of the content here.
Just to remind everybody (I know you said it already, but JIC...):
The roadtop mass transit lots block lots behind them!
This is not a mistake; it's a game side effect!

[capa don 0]

great tutorial! i'm going to use this as soon as possible. i'm always looking for new methods for mass transit, this seems like a very good one. thank you

[SC4 meister 7]

WOW thank you very much for this. This will help me a ton!

[greyveil 37]

B: Basic Mass Transit Flow Principles: Buses to Subways and Trains (Part 1 cont.)

Before we lay out our first subway line it is important to note a few items to clarify how the traffic engine works.some of these concepts are basic so bare with me.

1. Transit speeds: this is a rough breakdown from slowest to fastest of the traffic engine, a sim will normally take the route that is fastest but is sometimes influenced by wealth and other factors (i.e over capacity stops) to take a slower route (i.e. $$$wealth sims prefer monorail over other types)

Ped
Car
Bus
rail,subway, El rail
monorail

2. early on try to limit the number of overlapping mass transit routes (except for bus lines) and simply connect new lines to existing lines (this will be made clearer in the next couple of diagrams)

3. as your single type mass transit networks start to go over capacity you can expand connected networks to overlap each other to disperse the load on multiple networks. (This will also hopefully be made clearer as we go)

 

Example: connecting mass transit networks,

                                      

                                    Point A --------------rail-----------------Point B----------------el rail--------------- Point C

              

              overlapping mass transit networks,

 

                                   Point A ----------------------------rail--------------------------- Point B

                                              ----------------------------el rail------------------------  

 

Diag 23. Adding our first subway line, as you will notice, I have only connected the southern and eastern part of the city to the main rail line I did not overlap the existing rail line because the line is not at or over capacity.

 

http://img223.exs.cx/img223/4554/subwayline10um.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 24. This will be the last RCI (Residential, Commercial, Industrial) expansion pic I will be showing, just assume I will be adding zones throughout the city that follow the guidelines already discussed.

 

http://img223.exs.cx/img223/4233/residentialexpansion41up.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

 

Diag 25. Traffic View prior to adding Subway line.

 

http://img223.exs.cx/img223/152/trafficviewpriortosubways8iu.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 26. Traffic view after adding subway line

 

http://img223.exs.cx/img223/2676/trafficviewaftersubwayline8kt.jpg align=baseline>

 

The last 2 diagrams illustrate how adding a new line can affect existing traffic types, notice the relative decrease in bus usage?

 

Diag 27. Updated Transit Query overview

 

http://img223.exs.cx/img223/9565/transitquerywideview36uu.jpg align=baseline>

 

Current stats of out city (approximate values)

 

Pop 11,910  Traffic volume: Ped 3900 Bus 3400 Subway 2700 Train 2000 Car 200

(notice these numbers do not = pop that is because the numbers overlap, i.e a sim might walk to a bustop then take the bus to the subway these counts are added to all 3 volume figures)

 

Ok, I will be starting a new city in the region to cover the next couple of items, Next update coming soon!

 

[SC4 meister 7]

Thanks again for all of your hard work. This is cool kind of a new kind of CJ it is a TJ!(transportation journal)Thanks again.

[dbranch 0]

Query:  I deleted the road top mass transit mod a long time ago when I started using the NAM.  I thought it conflicted with the NAM.  Is this true or can I install it again?  I never had a problem with RTMT blocking lots, but then again the buildings were probably more than one time wide?  Thanks for the thoughts. 

[MrVegetable 2]

This is awesome! Must use this in Banana Grove! Thanks for giving me some hints on transportation!

[greyveil 37]

C: Adding Highways to the Mix, Transversing the Region

I will start this update by expanding the rail line in the existing city, then construct an elevated highway and lastly open traffic to the second city in the region.

 

Diag 28. As you start to expand a city its a good idea to keep in mind what kind of primary mass transit system you want that area to  use, and plan for it from the very start, here we have expanded our residential area south and have added another rail station, notice I placed the rail station as far east as I could at the time to allow for further expansion in that direction.

 

http://img209.exs.cx/img209/2171/2ndresidentialtrainstation9aj.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 29. Overview pic showing this station in relation to the main station, you will also notice the newly constructed elevated highway.

 

http://img209.exs.cx/img209/5479/overviewnewtrainstationandelhi.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 30. Transit query of the new station, you will notice a good number of the residence in this new area don't use the train because they immediately went to work in the commercial area just north of them, this rail station will get more use as you expand east.

 

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/5464/transitqueryofsecondresidentia.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 31. When placing highways I tend to limit the number of on/off ramps that are used, and I tend to place these in the areas that can sustain a high volume of traffic, this is a personal preferance, I have seen very little data that supports of contradicts that the number of ramps affect traffic, the key is placement.

 

http://img232.exs.cx/img232/9930/closeupofonramp3ff.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 32. Now we will add our second city and connect it to our transportation grid, following the previous examples.

 

http://img44.exs.cx/img44/9691/overviewpicofsecondcity6dn.jpg align=baseline>

 

you will notice the diag road that connects the residential area to the avenue north of the highway? roads like this can have an adverse affect on your traffic flow because they create shortcuts that will cause bottlenecks try to avoid these (I removed this after this pic)

 

Diag 33. Transit query of second city, you will notice that all 3 networks are utilized.

 

http://img193.exs.cx/img193/8972/transitqueryofsecondcity6hk.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 34. Transit query of first city after connection second city.

 

http://img193.exs.cx/img193/2916/transitqueryafteraddingsecondc.jpg align=baseline>

 

Diag 35. and finally the traffic volume graph of the first city, you will notice the spike when the second city was connected.

 

http://img193.exs.cx/img193/8855/trafficvolumegraphafteraddings.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

In closing,

Using the methods described above I am able to consistently maintain an average regional traffic volume as follows:

Pedestrian 30%
Bus 30%
Subway 20%
Rail 15%
Car 5% (This does vary with only $$$R cities depending on how I use monorail)

 

I hope this will help those out there create a traffic network that will consistently work for them, I will now answer a few questions and also take any questions, comments, and concerns anyone might have, I will be adding El rail and monorail to this tutorial sometime in the future.

 

BlackBeard: the only issue I have had with the cul-de-sac mod was it does not like some of the other road mods, but other than that is has work flawlessly

 

Equinox: Thanx, and yes it is very important for everyone that wants to use the RTMT mod that you always place the pieces to the side of your zones (especially 1x residential) you will notice this in the first few diagrams

 

dbranch: I use both the NAM and the RTMT mod all the time I have yet to have a conflict between the two.

 

[ILL Tonkso 1,237]

this is some great work here grey

[Piel Morena69 5]

I've been playing Sim City forever now and even now I just learned a thing or 2. Thank you very much GREYVEIL!!!!!!!! (You truly rock and thanks for making time to do this!)

[Fox 1,444]

Great tutorial you have been working on here Greyveil. You should be proud of yourself for providing your time and effort in making this to help others. I think you deserve a nomination for member of the month award.

 

Keep up this great work, the more your tutorial grows the more people I can point here to answers their queries.

 

[lestatdl1 0]

Greyveil, this is a great tutorial!

I'm amazed at the high percentage of sims in that city opting for MT. Are you using any mods that might affect pathfinding, probability of slecting MT over car, or is it simply that the city is all R$ sims?

 

Thanks for all your work!

-lestatdl1

[greyveil 37]

I do use the NAM (network addon mod) but pulled the traffic file for the tutorial, but I still used the base NAM dat which does correct a few pathfinding bugs. cities of this size starting a region should be a majority of r$ Sims, thats where alot of people get in trouble, having too many r$$ or r$$$ in a young city before it takes root will cause an abundance of issues (IMO).

[Compromise 1]

Great tutorial. This has helped me set up a better transport network.

[13thRaptor 0]

Thanks for the tutorial, it looks usefull, for a $%&^! major (mayor?) like me traffic is a major headache, tho i have managed with Avenues and some highways so far, its just barely keeping me out of the red.

[CaptainPOE 0]

Absoutley awesome tuturial man.  I got SC4 when it first came out, wasn't really good at it and just stopped playing as other things had attracted my attention.  But I started playing again recently (had to go buy it again since I couldn't find my CD's ) and I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it.  But one of the biggest problems I was having was getting a good transportation system going, but not anymore!

[spikeIt 0]

A bit of a bump, but I have to say I love this tutorial. I've just started playing SC4 a bit ago, and this tutorial is probably one of the best I've seen that really breaks down planning a transportation network.

I have to admit, I've attempted to copy this tutorial in a test city to try out these ideas. I can't seem to get the high utilization of the train that you do, but it is being used. The majority of my traffic to the industrial section seems to still be bus. I'm using the NAM with increased capacity and 10x commute. Maybe that's causing the problem?

Anyhow, thanks for the guide. Any chance of you writing it up in a format to post on the omnibus? It would be a shame to lose this in the forums.

[spicytimothy 7]

extremely helpful and enlightening! Thanks!

[Kamikaze 0]

I must say, this is a nice tutorial and i learn some things with this but i have a question, qhere can i find the bus stops you use?

[latavish 0]

Am currently at work right now and I just read your Efficient Transit Tutorial tutorial word for word and I must say I loved it and think its a GREAT tutorial for newbies like me. When I get off work i'm going home and give this tutorial a try just to get a feel of desiging transit options. This tutorial really help me understand transit design and is going to help me when building my city. I just love the step by step approach with graphics which is kind of hard to find.

You guys are awsome! and when I get my paypal account setup, i'm going to donate to the cause because this is truly the best resourse site for Sim city I have come across.

Latavish

P.S. Do you have any more step by step tutorials with grahics you can direct me to?

[FavreKev04 13]

Ya greyveil thats way to long for your sims to travel, I will just use my method

[+Guest]

I hate to sound like a broken record but a huge thanks.
I'm not really a $%&^!, but I'm also nowhere near a good player.
This is a great example to follow.
Thanks for your time and effort into this.

Hopefully it will encourage others to take the time to do tutorials like this as well.
Thanks again.

[richgray100 0]

nice work there man. saved a few of my cities now.