Transport Modelling Review

Description of impact

RESEARCH BACKGROUND
The independent Transport Modelling Review commissioned by MRWA, WA DoT, DoP, in consultation with Treasury and the Public Transport Authority, examined the transport modelling practices in our state, benchmarking them against modelling in Australia and overseas. The recommended Perth LAnd and Transport INtegrated Urban Model, PLATINUM is currently under development.
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION
The report provided an evaluation of modelling options and suggested a system of closely-coupled modules taking the best from existing STEM and ROM24 transport models. Consequently, the agencies implemented the following changes:
- DoT expanded the number of transport zones from 472 to 1,200;
- DoP is implementing CUBE-LAND as the land-use component of PLATINUM to incorporate transport accessibility feedback;
- Treasury seconded an economist to help implement CUBE-LAND to model residential and commercial relocation decisions;
- household travel survey (pilot completed in 2017) includes information of trip chains and stated preference data;
- a dedicated DoT team evaluates travel demand management measures and refines the set of wide-economic benefits of transport projects.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
Economic benefits of major land-use and transport projects are largely due to the impact on congestion and urban accessibility. Thus, transport and land-use modelling is critical to estimating the value of proposed infrastructure (e.g., the Airport link, Elizabeth Quay, Murdoch Activity Centre and METRONET). PLATINUM identified the need to include stronger behavioural theory, address non-motorised modes, and have a mesoscopic traffic model. The project provided WA with a sound platform to support strategic decisions and ongoing operations of Perth’s growing transport needs.

Impact date	2014
Category of impact	Public policy Impacts
Impact level	Adoption