2nd Transport Model for Scotland User Group Meeting

The second User Group Day for the Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS) will be held on Wednesday 28 March in the Exhibition Hall of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

The inaugural User Group Day (held on 9 November 2006) provided an introduction to the aims and objectives of the commission and was attended by almost 100 delegates from Local Authorities, Regional Transport Partnerships, Transport Scotland, consultants and other interested parties. Central to the progression of this commission was the submission of a ‘Draft Enhancement Report’ by MVA Consultancy in January 2007. This report provided a series of recommendations for technical and non-technical enhancements to the model and also took onboard input from the stakeholder consultations that were held with many of the delegates from the previous User Group. These recommendations have subsequently been refined by the Transport Scotland led Steering Group to produce a ‘vision’ of the future for TMfS.

The purpose of this User Group Day is to provide an overview of the enhancement programme to the User Group and its implications for different organisations. It will also allow current and potential model users to present their views on the proposed course of model development.

The day will consist of a series of presentations and discussions focussing on the enhancement programme, the application of TMfS within Transport Scotland and its potential applications for Local and Regional Authorities.

The programme for the day will be:
10:30-10:45 David Anderson: Transport Scotland: TMfS Project Director
10:45-11:00 Hugh Gillies: Transport Scotland: TMfS Project Manager
11:00-11:30 Boris Johansson: SIAS: TMfS Audit Manager
11:30-12:15 Kevin Lumsden: MVA Consultancy: TMfS Project Manager
12:15-12:30 Q&A (or as required)
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-13:45 Jana Haspicova: TMfS Website
13:45-14:15 Andy Dobson: David Simmonds Consultancy:Land-use Manager
14:15-14:45 Euan Barr: Jacobs Consultancy and Model User
14:45-15:30 Hugh Gillies: Sum up and Q&A

The meeting will commence at 10:00 (with a 10:30 start) and finish at around 15:30. A buffet lunch will be provided.

Transport Model for Scotland User Group Meeting

The inaugural User Group meeting for the Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS) will be held in the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday 9 November 2006.

Transport Scotland recently appointed MVA Consultancy to a new three year term commission for the ‘Maintenance and Enhancement of the Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS)’. TMfS is a multi-modal strategic Transport and Land Use modelling suite that contains an extensive database of road, public transport, travel pattern and land-use information. It has been used extensively on a number of major Scottish scheme and policy applications throughout the previous commission, both for Transport Scotland and a number of Local Authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships. Throughout the forthcoming commission, a number of enhancements will be undertaken to TMfS to further expand both its capabilities and geographical coverage. The approach to the management and support of the modelling suite is also undergoing a significant enhancement.

The day will consist of a series of presentations and discussions focussing on the various aspects of TMfS, its application within Transport Scotland and its potential applications for Local and Regional Authorities. Those presenting will include:

Frances Duffy - Transport Scotland: Director of Strategy and Investment
Hugh Gillies - Transport Scotland: TMfS Project Manager
Kevin Lumsden - MVA Consultancy: TMfS Project Manager
Boris Johansson - SIAS: TMfS Audit Manager
David Simmonds - David Simmonds Consultancy: Land Use Project Manager
Stuart Turnbull - Jacobs: Strategic Projects Review Project Manager

These speakers will provide a high level overview of TMfS and its capabilities and will be available to answer any questions throughout the day. Invitations have been extended to representatives from all Local Authorities, Regional Transport Partnerships, consultants and a range of other interested parties.

The TMfS Website has been enhanced with a new front page and menu layout.

The TMfS Website has been updated to provide new data sources for local authorities and regional partnerships.

TMfS Local Authorities data has been prepared and placed on the web site to inform local authorities with the type of information available from TMfS that could assist in the preparation of their Local\Regional Transport Strategies. This includes the data used in model development and examples of the model outputs available within TMfS.

Kevin Lumsden presented an overview, background and current news regarding the Transport Model for Scotland at the inaugural STAR conference in Glasgow on Tuesday 26th April.

TMfS is now available to all local authorities and the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive for use in the assessment of transport schemes and policies. The model can also be made available to consultants working for local authorities on specific projects, or with the agreement of the Scottish Executive it can be run by MVA (the consultant that has developed TMfS) on a bureau basis at competitively tendered rates. Please contact the Scottish Executive for further information.

Consultants and research institutes were invited to a presentation held at Victoria Quay on Wednesday 29th September. The presentation provided an overview of the objectives of the TMfS project, including TELMoS (Transport/ Economic/ Land-Use Model for Scotland), and explained some of the potential uses of the model and it's data for transportation and planning work.

The presentation and supporting information is available for download in the presentation section.

All local authorities were invited to a presentation held at Victoria Quay on Wednesday 3rd March. The presentation provided an overview of the objectives of the TMfS project, including TELMoS (Transport/ Economic/ Land-Use Model for Scotland), and explained some of the potential uses of the model and it's data for transportation and planning work in each local authority.

The format for the incorporation of the Land Use and Transport Interaction (LUTI) model (now referred to as Transport/Economic/Land Use Model of Scotland - TELMoS) within TMfS was agreed.

Following the release of the Census Output Area boundaries it was agreed with the Scottish Executive that it would be appropriate for the TMfS zone system to be more closely linked with the 2001 Census. Therefore, the zone system was changed to coincide with Output Area amalgamations that matched the existing zone boundaries as close as possible. The new zone system can be downloaded in mif/mid format in the Maps & GIS section