EMME 3 (student/academic) — request, install, activate, and a 30–60 minute first project

Goal: from zero to (1) a valid student/academic license, (2) EMME installed and activated, and (3) a tiny project that runs Shortest Path and User‑Equilibrium (UE) Assignment, then exports results. I’m keeping it practical and screenshot‑free so it works across versions.

0) Prereqs

• A university email and basic details (name, department, supervisor/course).
• A computer with admin privilege (Windows is most common).
• If your school uses a license server, you’ll need the host:port.

1) Request a student/academic license

1. Go to the vendor’s academic/student request page. Use your university email.
2. In the form, describe your intended course or research use and confirm it’s non‑commercial.
3. You’ll receive an email with:
   • license type (student/teaching/research),
   • instructions for the License Manager, and an activation key or server details,
   • terms (expiry, machine binding, support channel).

Tip: for coursework, request a teaching or student license; for research, request the academic variant your lab uses.

2) Install & activate (order matters)

1. Install the License Manager first.
2. Install EMME afterwards.
3. Open the License Manager and add your license:
   • Node‑locked: paste the key → activate → confirm an entry appears.
   • Network: enter host:port of the license server → test connection.
4. If activation fails: check system time, firewall, VPN, and restart the license service.
5. Keep the email handy—student licenses often expire; renewal is straightforward.

3) First project: empty DB → shortest path → UE assignment

(a) Create project & database

• EMME → New Project → choose a folder/name.
• Create an empty transportation database (.emp). Start with one time period (AM or Daily).

(b) Draw a tiny network

• Nodes: add a few intersections.
• Links: set length, lanes, speed, and direction.
• Turns: define restricted or penalized movements where needed.

(c) OD demand

• Import a small OD matrix (CSV/matrix), or build a 3×3 toy matrix for testing.
• Ensure the zones match your node/connector setup.

(d) Shortest path sanity check

• Run Shortest Path and inspect costs to detect connectivity issues.

(e) Traffic assignment (UE)

• Run Traffic Assignment – User Equilibrium.
• Algorithms typically include Frank–Wolfe and MSA; configure convergence tolerance, max iters, and the cost function (next section).

4) Cost function (BPR)

Textbook BPR travel time:
t = t0 * (1 + alpha * (v/c)^beta)

• Start with alpha = 0.15, beta = 4.
• v: flow, c: capacity, t0: free‑flow time.
• Use different parameter sets for different facility types/periods if needed.

5) Inspect & export results

• Link results: volume, speed, time, v/c.
• OD skims: travel time/distance matrices for behavior models.
• Export to CSV/Shape/GeoPackage; script bulk exports with Python macros when allowed.

6) Troubleshooting (most common)

• License not active → License Manager not running or wrong key: re‑activate or contact admin.
• Disconnected network → isolated nodes/missing directions: fix via the shortest path tool.
• Non‑convergence → unrealistic capacities/penalties or step size: check inputs and tune.
• Units mismatch → mixed speed/length units: unify in project settings.

7) Where to go next

• Multi‑period modeling; combined Auto + PT assignment.
• Demand feedback (four‑step loop), calibration, and validation.
• Keep a parameter changelog for future reproducibility.

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