Transport models are built for a number of reasons, most commonly, to inform appraisal, design and planning decisions which determine the allocation of resources. However, they are also a resource in themselves; they offer a simplified representation that aids our understanding of the world.
Transport Scotland have developed a linked hierarchy of transport models- national and regional models- and a land use model which, applied together, provides a full Land-use and Transport Interaction (LUTI) modelling capability.
The national transport model, Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS) offers a generalised, multi-modal representation of travel demands and infrastructure supply for a base (2007) and future forecast years.
The national land-use model, TELMoS (Transport and Economic Land-use Model of Scotland), provides independent demographic, planning and economic forecasts which form the basis for future travel demands.
There are a number of regional models associated with LATIS including:
Regional models, by their nature, offer a better representation of a smaller area. Principally, they offer a representation of the operation of junctions and the impacts of congestion upon traffic flow and delay.
More information is available on the hardware and software requirements to run the National and Regional models.
