To enable such a demanding list of objectives to be met the students are provided with an information pack including copies of relevant pages from the otherwise daunting set of TRIPS user manuals. The information pack is designed to guide the students through the project in the time available while also demanding that the students think for themselves and understand what they are doing.
Figure 2. Zoning system and road network for the study of the hypothetical city of Schoonham
In response to its first year of inclusion, TRIPS has been seen as a welcome addition to the course by the majority of the students although further refinement of the approach to tuition and guidance is still needed.
The TRG will be seeking to identify opportunities to use TRIPS more widely within the MSc course with the potential to provide an interface between different modules. For example it is expected that the Transport Economics module would benefit from extending the coursework discussed above to include a subsequent economic appraisal, feeding data from TRIPS into URECA. It is also hoped that public transport modelling will feature in the coursework as a supplement or replacement to the initial highway assignment coursework. This may be more difficult given the difference in modelling techniques and the fact that for some overseas students highway assignment will be of much greater relevance. Scope is limited at an undergraduate level for students to gain first hand experience with any software. However, it is planned to introduce TRIPS into the lecturing material and illustrate its functionality and use.
TRIPS IN RESEARCH
Research activity directed by the
