Bookings for 2011 TRICS® User Meeting now being taken

The TRICS® team are pleased to announce that bookings are now being taken for attendance at this year's TRICS® User Meeting, to be held at a unique venue in Bristol on Tuesday 7th June.

Every registered office licensed to operate the TRICS® system is entitled to send one delegate FREE OF CHARGE to this popular annual event, which this year takes place at the innovative @t Bristol educational science centre in the centre of the city. As attendee places are subject to availability we do advise that you book your places as soon as possible.

Our annual User Meetings are always well attended forums where attendees can find out the latest developments in the TRICS® project, and can have their direct say in the future of our system. Our unique interactive approach to developing TRICS® has meant that these events have been very important to us, as they are the ideal opportunity to provide us with your own feedback whilst at the same time learning more about our project activities.

This year there will be morning presentations on ideas for system development in 2011/12, how to apply good practice in trip generation analysis (incorporating the 2011 TRICS® Good Practice Guide), a data collection company's perspective on undertaking TRICS® surveys, plus a look at how TRICS® as a system can be applied in the light of recent and forthcoming policy changes. The afternoon session will look at the latest developments in our Standardised Assessment Methodology (SAM) for assessing the effect of Travel Plans, along with a run-through of the data collection programme that is being undertaken this year. Once the presentations are finished, there will then be the opportunity to attend either a TRICS® system demonstration or an interactive open forum where issues raised during the day can be discussed further.

As well as being our annual forum on the use and development of TRICS®, this is also a great opportunity to network with our wide community of TRICS® users in an informal yet informative and productive setting. A booking form can be downloaded at www.trics.org. Alternatively, contact one of the TRICS® team directly and we'll be happy to take your details.

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TRICS® 2011(a)v6.7.2 issued with over 120 new surveys

One of the largest additions of new survey data to the TRICS® database recently took place with the release of TRICS® Version 2011(a)v6.7.2 on 31st March 2011. Around 120 new survey days, across a wide variety of land uses and regional locations, were added to the Spring release, which means that the 2010 data collection programme has almost been fully delivered to our users. The remaining few surveys from this programme will be included in the next update of the system, version 2011(b)v6.8.1, which is being issued at the end of June.

In this forthcoming Summer system update, there will be a number of new system features available, including the following:

• A data field indicating the presence of "Sixth Form" facilities at secondary school sites will be made available.
• A descriptive document on the TRICS® system, ideal for those with little or no knowledge in the database, will be included within the system's Library module.
• A new facility for toggling trip rates at Employment sub-land uses between hourly and half-hourly formats will become available.
• PDF TRICS® data outputs will allow space for those providing trip generation outputs to add their own comments intended for data recipients.
• An internal/external Gross Floor Area breakdown for all new garden centre sites will be introduced.
• A guidance note on the use of the automated Cross Test facility, which compares trip rates generated by the mean (main calculation screen) and median (rank order list) calculation methods.

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2011 TRICS® Good Practice Guide soon to be issued

Work is currently underway to update the TRICS® Good Practice Guide to its 2011 edition, and as always the TRICS® team welcomes your feedback on what you'd like to see introduced in our annual updates. The TRICS® Good Practice Guide has become an integral part of user knowledge, and is used through the planning process up to and including Public Inquiry level.

The guidance was first developed in 2005, and has been refined and added to each subsequent year. It is essential reading for all suppliers and recipients of data produced through the TRICS® system, and is designed to provide a straightforward guide to the best practices in applying the system in the Transport Assessment process. Endorsed by the TRICS® Consortium, understanding the TRICS® Good Practice Guide and applying its principles is encouraged, to ensure that the best methods of system use are followed at all times.

The forthcoming Summer release of TRICS® version 2011(b)v6.8.1 shall include the 2011 guidance within its Library module, and it will also be available at www.trics.org.

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Have YOUR say in the future of TRICS® development

By now, each TRICS® user office would have received, by email, a copy of the 2011 TRICS® User Survey. This questionnaire, which only takes a few moments to complete, provides the TRICS® team with your much valued feedback on your experiences in using the system and its data. It is also the perfect opportunity for you to let us know the land use categories where you would like to see more surveys undertaken in the following year's data collection programme.

Your views count, and are regularly incorporated into our annual data collection and system development programmes, so please spend a few moments to tell us what you think. Our unique interactive and inclusive approach to project development means that our system develops with the input of the TRICS® Community, so please have your say today and positively contribute to your system's development in 2011/12.

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Details of 2011 TRICS® Conference coming soon

Following another successful TRICS® Transport and Development Conference back in November, plans are now underway for the 2011 event, which will once again be taking place in London.

At the moment, potential venues are being sourced, with the second week in November looking to be the likely time of year for the event. Once a date and venue has been finalised, all members of the TRICS® Community will be informed by email. If you have received this newsletter, then you will also receive all email notifications regarding the TRICS® Conference.

True to form, this year's event will cover a variety of contemporary transport planning and development control issues, taking place on a single day at an affordable delegate attendance rate. As with the event last year, which took place at the Magic Circle headquarters near London's Euston Station, we shall be looking for a similarly interesting venue that has a little something extra! Further details will also follow in the next edition of this newsletter.

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Get your FREE TRICS® SMS text updates

A new service is now available free of charge to all members of the TRICS® Community. The latest news and alerts can now be sent via SMS text message to your mobile phone, and recipients of messages do not pay a penny!

Whether it's an update on the TRICS® Conference, User Meetings, system updates or the data collection programme, sign up to our new service and we will keep you up-to-date on developments as and when they happen. All you need to do is contact any member of the TRICS® Development Team with your name and mobile phone number, and we'll set up your free alerts account. It's quick and easy, and you don't need to fill out any forms or complete a registration process - just give us your number. Of course, TRICS® will not give your number out to any third party under any circumstances, and you can cancel your free subscription at any time.

The TRICS® Consortium is keen to provide the latest news and updates in a quick and easy manner, and the TRICS® SMS service is the latest method of keeping in touch with the TRICS® Community - so why not get in touch and give it a go?

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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.

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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® team when your licence is due for renewal.

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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® team.

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