April 1st 2009 marks 20 years of the TRICS® system, and we are set to celebrate this with an unprecedented year of system developments and enhancements. TRICS® has continuously evolved since its very first release back in 1989, to meet the changing requirements of our industry, and we are committed to ensuring that TRICS® continues to lead the way for our users. From very small beginnings, TRICS® is now registered for use at over 500 locations across the UK and Ireland, with membership continuing to grow year-on-year.

To celebrate this milestone in the history of TRICS®, over the next 5 months, two updates of the system are scheduled, each to contain a variety of new features. On 1st April, TRICS® version 2009(a)v6.3.1 will be launched, containing the first batch of the changes which have been developed as a result of our interaction with the TRICS® Community. We are pleased to announce some of the highlights as follows.

• An on-line Help Desk facility will be launched, allowing our users to log requests for assistance through an automated, user-friendly interface.
• A password “lockdown” facility will allow administrators to ensure that login procedures are kept centrally secure.
• The Geographic Map feature, displaying locations of selected sites upon a map of the UK and Ireland, is being migrated to Google Maps, making this feature much more useful and interactive.
• A new count of “Journey Purpose” is being introduced for Employment and Residential surveys undertaken as part of the Standardised Assessment Methodology (SAM) project.
• Data within the Republic of Ireland is to be split within a number of new regions.

The 1st April release will also contain a large amount of new data, covering a wide variety of regions across the UK and Ireland.

Following this, in June/July, will be the launch of the next update, TRICS® version 2009(b)v6.4.1. We are pleased to confirm that this version of the system will contain some major enhancements which have been planned and developed in great detail over the past year. The most significant of these developments will be as follows.

• A new facility to print out trip rates for all modes simultaneously is being introduced.
• Average modal split pie charts will be split by user-defined time periods.
• An on-screen user guide/tutorial will allow new users to follow a demonstration of TRICS® in “real time”.
• Users will, for the first time, be able to save their “work in progress”, and return to it at a later time.
• Trip rate graphs by mode will be available for viewing on a single screen.
• Users will be able to calculate trip rates for individual sites instantly, whilst viewing a set of site details.
• The trip rate calculation process is being re-structured to maximise user-friendliness and logical progression, making filtering of data more straightforward.
• Filtering data by public transport provision is being re-introduced, using a more reliable “range of services” method.

As you can see, a lot of work has been undertaken behind the scenes over the last year, to ensure that the 21st year of TRICS® continues where the 20th year ends, in terms of its commitment to the TRICS® Community to maintain the system’s position as the national standard of trip generation and analysis. This has all been made possible by our unique interactive approach involving all members of the TRICS® Community, who have continued to provide the most valuable feedback and ideas, allowing the system to evolve to meet the dynamic demands of an ever-evolving industry. 

The Standardised Assessment Methodology (SAM) project has had a successful 2008/09, with a record number of surveys being undertaken and input into the TRICS® database.

SAM’s goal is to present a national standard for travel plan monitoring to local authorities and site operators across the UK, combining the comprehensive data collection approach of TRICS® with the most important elements of travel planning. By surveying sites using our methodology during years 1, 3 and 5 of the life of a travel plan, we will be able to identify changes of mode split over time, eventually allowing us to discuss what travel plan measures are most effective.

Pilot SAM sites that were originally surveyed in 2005 have been revisited in 2008. These first re-surveys have been analysed in detail, and a new TRICS® research report comparing the two sets of surveys, “The Effect of Travel Plans”, is soon to be made available within the Library module of the system. This research will also enable the SAM team to fine-tune our procedures and data collection requirements for the future. The new “Journey Purpose” count is the first of what is sure to be a number of survey enhancements.

Interest in the SAM approach across the UK continues to grow, with an increasing number of local authorities now writing in SAM surveys as a condition of planning agreements. This will, naturally, lead to a greater number of annual SAM surveys. For more information on SAM please visit www.trics.org/sam   

Despite the current economic situation, TRICS® is pleased to confirm that its 2009 data collection programme remains unaffected, with 300 surveys taking place all across the UK and Ireland this year. We are committed to ensuring that our system’s database remains the most comprehensive and nationwide resource for trip generation analysis, and users will see the benefit of our approach upon the forthcoming release of TRICS® 2009(a)v6.3.1 in April, which will see one of the largest additions of new survey data since the system was launched.  

We are pleased to confirm two excellent venues for this year’s TRICS® User Meetings. On Wednesday 17th June 2009, the first of our two events will take place in London, at the Imperial War Museum. This will be followed a week later by the second event at the National Railway Museum in York. Both these unique venues provide excellent facilities for what is an essential part of the calendar for the TRICS® Community.

This year’s meetings celebrate 20 years of TRICS®, and will include additional presentations on the history of the system and a talk about TRICS® from a user’s perspective, as well as the annual presentations on system development, good practice guidance, and other associated TRICS® topics. The annual User Meetings are ideal for both new and experienced users, and are always excellent forums for feedback and discussion. As usual, there will also be a “hands-on” technical workshop session, and, as always, attendance is free to TRICS® member organisations.

All members of the TRICS® Community will be notified of programme details as soon as they are finalised.  

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.