What are the Elements of TMS Planning Tools?

What is a transport management system planning tool? A transport management system planning tool is an application that helps transport managers make decisions about the operations and maintenance of public transport networks. TMS planning tools usually include traffic simulation, mapping, optimization, and decision support software.

We have discussed these below;

Traffic simulation

Traffic simulation involves running multiple traffic models which can be combined at different levels. The base-level traffic model is usually based on the travel survey data of road users, while higher level traffic models use data from the lower level model as an input. 

The main modeling techniques include origin-destination matrices (ODM), vehicle-based travel demand models and route choice models. Origin-destination matrices are often used for short term forecasting and ranking of alternative investment projects such as road capacity expansion or bus services deployment.

Mapping features

A well-designed transport management system planning tool should allow you to zoom into a specific area and view it at different scales. This will provide you with many more options for viewing your transportation network than simply showing everything at once on a map. 

For example, if you want to look at how an upcoming construction project will affect traffic patterns around the area, you might want to view the project site at a close scale to get an idea of what streets will be affected by the work.

Optimization logarithm

One planning tool that is essential to a TMS is an optimization algorithm. An optimization algorithm aims to identify the best solution for a given problem based on specific criteria. Optimization algorithms are used in most TMSs or the following applications:

• Improving travel time by developing a network that minimizes travel time from origin to destination
• Minimizing vehicle operating costs by computing the least expensive combination of vehicles to perform a service
• Optimizing vessel routes by determining the least expensive route that meets demand to maximize revenue
• Identifying optimal flow patterns through networks where there are limited capacity constraints.

Finally, other elements are data entry and data handling, which are needed to input data to calculate a solution. There is also a graphic user interface, or GUI, that enables users to interact with the system