files changed due to EMME version upgrade

[JiaXu1024]

Proposed changes

EMME 4.3.7 has been used for ABM2, ABM2+ and ABM3 for years. It's time to upgrade EMME version to OpenPaths EMME 2025. The main changes include:

• Converting scripts from Python 2 to Python 3.
• Removing unnecessary legacy scripts in Python 2.
• Updating dependencies (e.g., GDAL and other modules).
• Adjustments to maintain compatibility with the new OpenPaths EMME release.

Impact

The OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01 release introduces:

• Network acceleration for improved SOLA traffic assignment performance.
• Enhanced transit analysis capabilities (auxiliary transit modes, new specifications for auxiliary transit times and costs).
• A new Extended Transit Assignment tool.
• Usability improvements, including folder-based organization, file/directory selection widgets, and a new Edit mode to protect flows from inadvertent changes.

These updates ensure that ABM3 v15.3.0 continues to run efficiently while taking advantage of the latest features and performance improvements in EMME OpenPaths.

Types of changes

What types of changes does your code introduce to ABM?

• Bugfix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
• Documentation Update (if none of the other choices apply)

How has this been tested?

Please describe the tests that you ran to verify your changes.

• Developed a scenario based on the ABM3 release by updating the EMME product from version 4.3.7 to OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01 and converting scripts from Python 2 to Python 3.
• Build a release from branch 'ABM3_develop_OpenPaths_new' and created scenarios for different years to test.
• Conducted multiple tests to achieve complete model runs in OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01 on the Torero and Mustang servers for the years 2022 and 2035.

Model Outputs Comparison

The following model performance metrics are from Model Comparison Report db15_3_0.

• VMT Differences (Same Settings in OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01): Comparison of scenarios with identical settings shows that VMT variances are within expected limits (less than 0.05%)

• VMT Differences (EMME Versions): Comparing scenarios using EMME 4.3.7 and OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01, the VMT is lower in the scenario with OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01, with a difference of 1.9%.

• Transit Boardings Differences (EMME Versions): Comparing the same scenarios, transit boardings are higher in OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01 (308,606) versus EMME 4.3.7 (289,617), representing an increase of approximately 6.5%. Future calibration will be implemented to refine transit ridership results.

• Mode Choice Differences (EMME Version): Comparing OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01 with EMME 4.3.2 (resident model), total trips show a slight decrease of approximately 0.45%. Drive-alone and shared-ride trips (2- and 3-person) decreased, while all other modes experienced increases. The largest gains occurred in TNC (+14.4%), PRM (+9.8%), and MIX (+9.6%) trips. Smaller increases were observed in E-bike/Escooter (+5.9%), local transit (+4.9%), taxi (+11.8%), school bus (+5.2%), and microtransit/NEV (+7.1%) trips. These differences highlight shifts in travel behavior under OpenPaths EMME 25.00.01, which can inform future model calibration and scenario testing.

Checklist:

• My code follows the style guidelines of this project
• I have performed a self-review of my own code
• I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
• I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
• My changes generate no new warnings

Further comments

Errors were logged in Azure DevOps task 1048

[bhargavasana]

@JiaXu1024 let's add the impacts in terms of VMT and transit boardings - absolute and percent differences. Any noteworthy mode share differences. Let's add some screenshot from model comparison report also.

[bhargavasana]

• Major change upgrading EMME to the latest version (Open Paths 25.00.01) in ABM3
• Removes dependency on Python27
• Avoid unnecessary conversion of trip tables (https://github.com/SANDAG/ABM/blob/v15.3.1/src/asim/scripts/convert_tripTables.py)

A website for comparison of skims and other traffic characteristics was developed - https://sandag.github.io/EMME-Version-Comparison

A recalibration effort will be needed to bring the results of base year back in line with EMME 4.3.7/ABM3 v15.3.1