Transportation Planning

Our transportation planning staff provide expertise in transport policy, strategy development and appraisal, modelling and forecasting across all modes of transport and have played a leading role in a number of major multi-modal studies in recent years and the development of future transport strategies on a national, regional and local level.

Work Areas

Faber Maunsell's transportation planning stream undertakes studies in the following areas:

• Feasibility studies
• Operational, economic and environmental appraisal of major transport schemes
• Monitoring and evaluation of schemes and plans
• Traffic and transport data collection of all types
• Strategic multi-modal studies
• Integrated transport studies
• Inter-urban route and urban corridor planning
• Corridor and area-wide transport strategies
• Strategy and plan development
• Local transport plans
• Freight plans and strategies
• Airport access studies
• Travel demand forecasting
• Revenue estimation and risk assessments
• Policy research
• Safe routes to school
• Green travel plans
• Demand management
• Road pricing/congestion charging studies
• Market research
• Stated and revealed preference surveys
• Consultation
• Quality monitoring
• Best value reviews

Our Clients

We work closely with other business streams within the transportation division, and with transport infrastructure designers and environmental specialists in other divisions of Faber Maunsell to offer a comprehensive product to clients.

Our transportation planning teams work for national and local governments, and public and private transport operators in the highways, rail, bus and air sectors. Whilst the majority of our work is in the UK and Western Europe, the business stream and its staff have extensive experience of work elsewhere in the world including the Middle East, the Pacific Rim and Australia.

A Customised Approach

Faber Maunsell's approach to transportation planning is always customized to meet individual project requirements, but typically is built up from the following elements:

• A review of current transport conditions
• Problem assessment
• A detailed survey of travel patterns and behaviour
• Consultations with interest groups
• Market research
• Development of transport options
• Predicting future travel demand, in total and by mode
• Scheme feasibility assessment and appraisal
• Development of travel plans
• Scheme funding assessment
• Development of partnerships between public and private sector
• Scheme implementation and action plans

Transport Modelling

With increasingly complex interaction between a variety of transport modes and travel choices, meeting the needs of the travelling public and commercial interests within the framework of financial and environmental accountability has become a major issue. In developing appropriate solutions the use of transport modelling tools is a vital component in the decision making process.

Faber Maunsell is able to offer high level expertise in all aspects of transport modelling including:

• Calibration and validation of demand models for the development of multi-modal study frameworks with a particular expertise in the use of Stated and Revealed Preference techniques
• Development of traffic models ranging from detailed operational models using micro simulation tools (VISSIM/PARAMICS) to strategic network studies using SATURN/TRIPS/EMME2
• Development of public transport models for the strategic assessment and detailed design of LRT schemes using EMME/2 or TRIPS
• The determination of demand and revenue streams for private finance bids for road and rail schemes and the assessment of risk associated with these using @RISK

Faber Maunsell takes an active role in promoting the development of transport modelling and software techniques to meet the changing needs of the transportation industry. To this end Faber Maunsell acts as agent for EMME/2 and VISSIM and in both cases plays a proactive role in promoting improvements to these packages. However Faber Maunsell policy has been to develop expertise in all the main modelling packages and to develop interfaces between the packages so that the most appropriate tools can be utilised. Examples of this in recent years have included models linking SATURN/EMME2, SATURN/TRIPS, TRIPS/VISSIM and EMME2/VISSIM where the respective strengths of each package have been successfully brought to bear to solve complex modelling issues.

Proven Results

The successful development of projects, whether integrated transport systems or highway schemes is heavily dependent on gaining adequate funding - often from budgets with competing demands. Faber Maunsell adopts a tried and tested approach in this critical area. It is based on well planned strategies backed by thorough analytical research - in our experience the most effective way of securing both the appropriate levels of scheme funding and public acceptance.

For more information on our experience and capabilities please contact Paul Knight.