Top 10 Best Transport Planning Software of 2026

PTV Visum is the industry-leading transport planning software from PTV Group, specializing in macroscopic modeling of multimodal transport networks. It supports demand forecasting, traffic assignment, public transport optimization, and scenario analysis for urban, regional, and national planning. Widely used by transport authorities and consultancies worldwide, it integrates seamlessly with GIS tools and microscopic simulators like PTV Vissim for comprehensive planning workflows.

Emme, developed by INRO, is a leading multimodal transportation modeling software used for strategic planning, traffic assignment, transit simulation, and land-use integration in urban and regional contexts. It excels in handling complex networks with features like dynamic traffic assignment, path-based modeling, and scenario analysis for evaluating policy impacts. Widely adopted by major metropolitan planning organizations, Emme supports detailed forecasting of travel demand and network performance across all modes including cars, transit, bikes, and pedestrians.

TransCAD, developed by Caliper Corporation, is a powerful GIS-based transportation planning software designed for modeling and analyzing transportation networks, travel demand, and multimodal systems. It excels in four-step travel demand modeling, traffic assignment, transit simulation, freight logistics, and scenario analysis with robust visualization tools. Widely used by planning agencies and consultants, it handles large-scale regional models and integrates spatial data seamlessly for comprehensive transport planning.

AI msun Next is a leading multimodal transport simulation software used for advanced traffic modeling and planning. It supports macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic simulation levels, enabling detailed analysis of traffic flow, public transport, pedestrians, and freight across large-scale networks. The tool excels in scenario testing, optimization, and forecasting impacts of infrastructure changes, policy decisions, and emerging technologies like AVs.

PTV Vissim is a premier microscopic, multi-modal traffic simulation software developed by PTV Group for detailed modeling of urban and highway traffic networks. It simulates individual behaviors of vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport using advanced car-following and lane-changing models for high-fidelity results. Widely used in transport planning, it supports scenario testing for intersections, roundabouts, signal optimization, and large-scale networks, with integration to other PTV tools like Visum.

Cube Voyager, developed by Bentley Systems, is a powerful transportation modeling suite for strategic transport planning and demand forecasting. It supports traditional four-step models, activity-based modeling via DaySim, and advanced traffic assignment techniques for large-scale networks. The software integrates seamlessly with GIS tools and handles multimodal analysis, making it a staple for metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and departments of transportation (DOTs).

ArcGIS Network Analyst is an extension of the ArcGIS platform designed for advanced network-based spatial analysis, particularly suited for transportation planning tasks like route optimization and accessibility modeling. It provides solvers for vehicle routing problems (VRP), service areas, closest facilities, origin-destination matrices, and time-dependent routing with live traffic integration. This tool excels in handling complex, real-world transportation networks within a full GIS environment, enabling planners to visualize and optimize multimodal transport scenarios.

Optibus is a cloud-based, AI-powered platform for public transit operators, specializing in end-to-end transport planning, scheduling, rostering, and real-time operations management. It leverages advanced optimization algorithms to create efficient routes, shifts, and rosters while minimizing costs and improving service reliability. The software integrates with AVL systems, GTFS data, and other tools, enabling data-driven decisions for complex transit networks.

AnyLogic is a multimethod simulation software that excels in modeling complex transportation systems, including traffic flow, public transit, logistics, and multimodal networks using agent-based, discrete event, and system dynamics approaches. It provides specialized libraries for road traffic, rail, pedestrians, and airports, enabling detailed scenario analysis for transport planning and optimization. Users can integrate GIS data, real-time inputs, and custom Java extensions for highly realistic simulations with 3D visualization.

SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility) is a free, open-source microscopic and continuous traffic simulation package for modeling multimodal transport systems including vehicles, public transit, bicycles, and pedestrians. It supports detailed analysis of urban traffic flow, intersections, emissions, and infrastructure scenarios through customizable networks created via NETEDIT or imported from sources like OpenStreetMap. Widely used in research and planning for its high fidelity and extensibility via Python's TraCI interface.