Now you can try it out for yourself - download a real model and play with it . . . guided by us of course. See our website www.visual-transport-modeller.com for more details.
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The Objectives of this Site
This is the website for those interested in transport modelling (not sediment transport real transportation - people, buses, trains, roads stuff like that). You can get to understand the subject of transport modelling from the simple transport models to complex ones. You can download free transport modelling software and try it out using our data or you can prepare your own. You can email us with your questions and we will answer them. This website is backed by top experts.
This website is the sort of place where people can come if they want to know what transport modelling is. For those in transport planning it's the sort of place where they can get information about how it's done and how it's not done. For the experienced transport planner or modeller it's the sort of place where they can get their questions answered. A source of current information - whats topical, whats new, how to develop their own transport model. How to see through the bullshit. A source of information for students who get lousy lectures and want to learn the subject or the experienced researcher who wants to find out about current practice.
What is Transport Modelling?
When a new road is to be built, a transport model is usually built to see how much traffic the road will carry, how wide it should be, where to put the road junctions etc. After all if you can save the cost of a slip road then this is a fraction of the cost of the model. Most governments want to build roads which will give them the best use of their money so they rank alternative road schemes so as to give the best value for public money. The model is built in a computer with a representation of the transport system and the demand from people who want to use it both now and in the future.
Transport models also sometimes cover public transport, walking and cycling and at the other end of the scale they can cover air, sea and freight. These models may also need to cover fares where the higher the fare the less people will use it. This leads to the idea of an elasticity which is a relationship between fare and the number of people who use it.
In some countries (eg the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand), it is common for the local government to develop a plan to cover the future development of the towns and cities in their area for the next five, ten years or so. These plans commonly cover the development of the use of the land as well as development of the transport system. For the larger settlements it is usual to develop a transport model so as to make the best use of the money needed to improve the transport system. The authority will keep the transport model and use is as the need arises to change the transport plan, investigate new transport opportunities and understand the impact of the development of new sites. These models were often models of the highway system so as try to cater for the ever increasing use of cars perhaps with a public transport model to look at the increasing role public transport would be expected to play in the future. The larger conurbations often developed large complex multi mode models while at the other end of the scale very small towns did not need a model and medium sized ones could have just a model of the highway system.
In the last ten years or so (earlier in some countries, later in others) there has been an increasing awareness that governments do not have enough money to build roads to cater for all the demand from cars - especially in urban areas. The emphasis now is on trying to understand the role of other modes of transport and to provide for travel wherever possible, on alternatives to the car. These sorts of problems require different sorts of models to address them properly. They seek to understand behaviour with techniques such as stated and revealed preference and disaggregate modelling techniques.
Contacting us
This site was developed by Peter and Tom Davidson with assistance from Peter Davidson Consultancy. We can be contacted on peter@peter-davidson.com or tom@yuki-onna.co.uk