TRICS® Newsletter - Issue 35

TRICS® 2010(a)v6.5.2 to be released this month

The next update of TRICS®, version 2010(a)v6.5.2, is to be released at the end of March. This update is to contain a significant amount of new survey data, following a busy period of data supply, input and validation over the winter months. As usual, the update will be available both live on the web and as a download.

The current live version 2010(a)v6.5.1 was issued in December 2009, and contained a significant system amendment within the trip rate calculation selection process. Users will be familiar with the stage-by-stage selection process which was restructured and made much more user-friendly in 2009. We have now tweaked this process to further enhance the logical structure of the system, and will continue to do so with the help of much-valued feedback from members of the TRICS® Community. The annual TRICS® User Questionnaire will soon be issued to all members, allowing everyone a direct say in the future development of the system.

▲

Date and venue of 2010 User Meeting confirmed

We are pleased to announce that the 2010 TRICS® User Meeting is this year to be held in central Birmingham, on Tuesday 15th June.

This year’s innovative venue is The Studio, which is located two minutes from Birmingham New Street station. The Studio is a modern, contemporary venue, details of which can be found at www.studiovenues.co.uk. As in previous years we are offering free delegate places (including a buffet lunch) to all member organisations, with one free place per member office. Places at this popular annual event are limited, and will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Keep an eye out for your delegate booking forms which will soon be on their way, with details also to be made available at www.trics.org.

The annual User Meetings are always excellent forums that are ideal opportunities to find out what’s happening with TRICS® and to have your own say in the future development of the system. They are helpful for both new and experienced TRICS® users alike, and, as in previous years, will include our popular hands-on workshop sessions.

▲

Another successful TRICS® Conference takes place in London

The 21st annual TRICS® National Transport and Development Conference took place in November at the Holiday Inn Regent’s Park Hotel in London. The theme of the Conference was “Shaping Tomorrow”, and the presentations given at the two-day event can be downloaded at www.trics.org. The Conference, which received excellent delegate feedback (a summary of which can also be found at the TRICS® website), also included a 21st birthday celebratory dinner, including our popular interactive after-dinner quiz using “Qwizdom” technology, something that was also incorporated into the Conference programme itself to make the event truly interactive. Details of this year’s event will be made available via this newsletter, the TRICS® website and by direct correspondence, as soon as a date and a venue are finalised.

▲

TRICS® Multi-Modal Methodology sets the standard

The TRICS® Multi-Modal Methodology document has recently been updated for 2010, and is available free of charge upon request from the TRICS® Development Team (see the contacts section of this newsletter).

This document details the methods used by TRICS® in site visits and the production of multi-modal survey specifications, and is designed to assist those wishing to undertake multi-modal surveys to the TRICS® standard. It covers the numerous site checks and analyses that are necessary for a successful multi-modal survey to take place, and, as anyone studying the document will see, it shows just how varied and complex individual multi-modal surveys at various types of development can be.

When visiting developments to assess their multi-modal survey requirements, prior to producing a specification, there are many factors that need to be taken into account. Is off-site parking to be a consideration? Would people use the site as a through-route? How many access points are there at the site, and how should each of these be individually dealt with? Where would interviews be necessary to ascertain the correct main mode of transport, and how many people would be needed on the ground to cover these? The questions you need to ask are indeed numerous, and the document explains the steps that TRICS® takes to answer each of these, so that a final specification can be produced that everyone can clearly understand, and which will yield a complete and accurate multi-modal data collection exercise.

Even if you are not intending to undertake your own TRICS®-compliant surveys, this document is very helpful in assisting your understanding of how TRICS® works and how we go about the process of collecting data across all regions of the UK and Ireland for the large programmes that we commission each year.

▲

Feedback on Good Practice Guidance wanted

The annual update to the TRICS® Good Practice Guide will soon be undertaken, so now is the time to provide your own input into this important document.

A paper given at the 2009 TRICS® Conference mentioned how our guidance had been used at a Public Inquiry into a planning application, so it is clear that the information contained within the guide is widely used at all levels of the planning process.

The 2010 Good Practice Guide will be issued later in the Spring, and will take into account all feedback received from members of the TRICS® Community, so now is the perfect time to let us know what you think should be included in the update to this document. The guidance is fully endorsed by the owners of TRICS® (the TRICS® Consortium), and is designed to show the correct procedures that should be used by both suppliers of data calculated from TRICS® and recipients of such data. Since its first issue in 2005, it has quickly become one of the most important documents for all members of the TRICS® Community to become familiar with. Please contact the TRICS® Development Team with your feedback – we look forward to hearing from you.

▲

2010 Data Collection Programme progresses

Since last November, work has commenced in the planning and preparation for the 2010 TRICS® Data Collection Programme, and this month sees the first regional packages of data collection for the new programme being commissioned.

Site visits at numerous developments across a number of regions in the UK and Ireland have been ongoing since the tail end of 2009, and continue into 2010, as does the production of multi-modal survey specifications and the gathering of survey permissions from site owners and operators. At this time of the year we introduce our approved data collection contractors into the process, as we commence the tendering of the regional data collection packages.

In 2010 we are undertaking a total of 230 transport surveys across a wide variety of land use types, covering all regions of the UK and Ireland. The contribution of development preferences from our member organisations, through our annual User Questionnaire, has assisted us greatly in our focus on specific land use types, and this combined with the dedicated work of the TRICS® Development Team guarantees that, once again, our programme of data collection will be comprehensive and diverse, highlighting TRICS® as the only nationwide system of trip generation analysis. The latest set of new data to enter the system will be released when TRICS® 2010(a)v6.5.2 is issued at the end of this month.

▲

TRICS® Training Sessions available

TRICS® training sessions are available to all users. These sessions consist of a full system demonstration plus an interactive workshop session, which allows attendees to fully test the system. These sessions continue to receive good feedback and have been popular with our members at universities, councils and consultancies.

For information on training sessions, please contact Ian Coles.

▲

Quarterly payment option available

We are pleased to confirm the continued availability of a quarterly payment option for all of our members. We understand that cash-flow can be an issue in the current economic conditions, and this option allows user organisations to spread the cost of their annual licences across four quarterly payments, rather than having to pay for their licence in one go. For those wishing to take up this offer, four invoices will be forwarded instead of one, at three-monthly intervals. This does not affect user expiry dates in any way, and all you need to do to set up this option is contact a member of the TRICS® Development Team when your licence is due for renewal.

▲

Free 1 month trial of TRICS® available

A free 1-month trial of the latest full version of TRICS® is available to all organisations upon request. Throughout the free trial period full technical support is available at no cost, and there is no obligation once the period has expired.

Many organisations have already found this trial useful. Anyone interested in the free trial should contact the TRICS® Development Team.

▲