Transport policy assessment tools

TRL has established a reputation for the innovative development of software for the strategic modelling of towns, cities and conurbations. This development draws on TRL’s longstanding expertise and achievement in areas as diverse as land use, public transport operations, vehicle emissions and safety.

The Strategic Transport Model (STM) is the flagship model and has a capability of modelling policy impacts in study areas with up to 200 zones. STM has been used by Strathclyde PTE (where it has been coupled to an interactive land-use model), by SEERA (the South East England Regional Assembly), by Gloucestershire County Council and by West Yorkshire PTE. Other applications have been used in South Wales, Cheshire and in the Midlands. 

STM enables parking and public transport policies to be quickly assessed against a background of assumptions about economic growth, fuel price changes, demographic changes and changes in the level of car ownership. STM can also include facilities for assessing the impact of LRT, Park-and-Ride and the introduction of new stations. The latest version of STM can also provide a cost-benefit analysis and some capability of assessing the broad strategic impact of road network changes.