Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) is a windows-based model used to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from on-road vehicles to create state or local inventories, or to estimate total energy consumption from the on-road sector at various scales: national, county, and project.

The purpose of MOVES is to provide an accurate estimate of emissions from cars, trucks and non-highway mobile sources under a wide range of user-defined conditions.

In the modeling process, the user specifies vehicle types, time periods, geographical areas, pollutants, vehicle operating characteristics, and road types to be modeled. The model then performs a series of calculations, which have been carefully developed to accurately reflect vehicle operating processes, such as cold start or extended idle, and provide estimates of bulk emissions or emission rates. Specifying the characteristics of the particular scenario to be modeled is done by creating a Run Specification, or RunSpec.

In addition, the MOVES model includes a default database that summarizes emission relevant information for the entire United States. The MOVES team continually works to improve this database, but, for many uses, up-to-date local inputs will be more appropriate, especially for analyses supporting State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and conformity determinations.

Key questions addressed:

• What are the GHG and air toxic emissions from national, regional, or local vehicle fleets?
• How would emissions decrease in my state on a typical weekday if truck travel was reduced during rush hour?
• How does the total emission rate change if my fleet switches to gasoline from diesel fuel?

Sample data inputs:

• Vehicle types
• Vehicle miles traveled
• Vehicle operating characteristics
• Time periods
• Geographical areas
• Fuel Information
• Road types

Sample quantitative outputs:

• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Air toxic emissions

Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES).

Resources:

MOVES user guide

MOVES user interface manual

Presentation: An introduction to MOVES for non-modellers

Case studies and reports

Online training resources.