MSc Transport Planning & Engineering

The the module is broken down into three overarching themes:Introduction to Public Transport:This section outlines the major roles that public transport plays within society today, the different governance structure surrounding the delivery of public transport, the different approaches taken to the delivery of bus and rail public transport services, and some of the practical outcomes of these approaches.Issues in Public TransportThis section of the course develops some of the ideas outlined above further, to examine the different roles that public transport plays in supporting the local society and the wider economic community. Specific topics will include urban based public transport (what American?s call ‘public transit?), the role of public transport in the more general social inclusion debate, attitudes and behaviours towards public transport usage, issues surrounding the provision of public transport in rural areas, and finally long distance public transport, which also includes examination of high speed rail and domestic air services.The Planning of Public TransportThe final section of the course considers topics associated with the planning and operation of public transport services. This will normally be examined under four specific areas which are public transport network design, the costing of public transport operations, including issues that need to be considered when bidding for a local authority contract, the use of intelligent transport systems (ITS) in the planning and management of public transport services and finally public transport information, and pricing, which includes real time information and smart ticketing.

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The module will introduce students to the current industry design standards, guidelines, as well as introduce to the Best Practices within Europe and Internationally. The module will provide students with the skills to perform a) Geometric design of a Roadway, b) Design principles for selection of an Intersection type, c) Design of Priority Intersections, d) Design of Roundabouts, e) Traffic Signal Design, f) Understanding of corresponding implications on Road Safety and Sustainability, and g) Special Provisions for Cycling. Communication and report writing skills will be developed in the individual coursework element of the module which will contribute to 40% of the total assessment. To develop the real life problem solving skills, and working within a specific time frame, an online centrally timetabled exam (60%) will be conducted.Examples used for teaching will be derived from transport research and studies, including real project case studies and global challenges. Research and scholarly activity will be fundamental in this module, particularly with reference to the coursework. Students will be asked to undertake scholarly activity and leverage relevant information from research publications, academic journals and industry websites to assess current developments in Traffic Engineering. Particular emphasis will be given to the sustainability aspect of the design work that is conducted through the coursework, as the students are asked to appraise the impact of real-life design concepts on road operations and the users, and to identify design solutions that will optimise driving behaviour and network operations and minimise the long- term nuisance to the local communities and environment. Supporting equality and diversity. This module has been developed to reflect international practices in Traffic Engineering. Unit 1:Highway Geometric Design Considerations Unit 2: Highway Geometric Alignment DesignUnit 3: Highway Geometric Design – Intersections Unit 4: Highway Geometric Design – Roundabouts Unit 5: Isolated Traffic Signal Design Unit 6: Advanced Isolated Traffic Signal Design Unit Unit 7: Linked Traffic Signals DesignUnit 8: ITS for Road Network OperationsUnit 9: Design Principles for Cycling.Unit 10: Human Centric Transportation Design and Human Error

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Unit 1: Development Management Unit 2: CyclingUnit 3: Walking and Inclusive Mobility Unit 4 : Safety Data Collection and Analysis Unit 5: Collision Prevention and ReductionUnit 6: Human Error and Reliability in Transportation SafetyUnit 7: Situation AwarenessUnit 8: Drift to DangerUnit 9: Road Safety Policy, Strategies and Speed ManagementUnit 10: TDM through behavioural changeUnit 11: Street Layout and Design, and Parking Management

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In the “economic” part of the module, we introduce the crucial economic problem of scarcity, and its relevance to transport issues. We describe the characteristics of free and planned markets, and how these resolve the basic questions of what, how and for whom goods and services should be produced. We then examine the underlying economics of the market in terms of demand and supply. The economic costs of mobility and how these are accumulated are then examined, before we study the economists’ model of perfect competition and then, from this hypothetical “ideal”, we move to consider government intervention in the form of transport subsidies and regulation that are needed in reality to provide society with the level of accessibility it requires in a sustainable and equitable way.
The “appraisal” part explains the need for appraisal procedures in the private and public sectors. We examine the business cases required to take decisions on public transport investments in the UK. We present WebTAG, the UK public appraisal system used to generate the evidence required in the transport business cases. We analyse the content of transport studies produced according to WebTAG guidelines, with particular focus on calculation of benefits for transport users and social cost benefit analysis. Finally, we examine the potential wider impacts of transport investments on the economy, the environment and society, and discuss the necessary conditions to foster positive impacts.

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The module starts by considering the process of policy making and who is responsible for transport policy e.g. supranational, central and local government structures and the role of the private sector. Problems and trends in transport demand and an introduction to policy perspectives; economic instruments in transport; taxes and subsidies, funding mechanisms, road pricing; direct regulation of street space); Land use planning and the management of transport demand; evolution of road and rail networks; rural transport policy; parking policy; town-friendly traffic planning; green commuter plans; “Smarter Choices” behavioural change measures, the mobility impaired in transport policy.Implementation and evaluation of transport policy. Case studies of transport policy and planning approaches in various International cities.

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The module is divided into three parts including a total of 14 units. The contents of these units are as follows:Part 1: Introduction to transport planning and modellingThis section includes introduction to transport planning and modelling and data collection. Part 2: Transport and Traffic ModelsThis section includes trip generation techniques; trip distribution modelling (growth factor and synthetic techniques); modal choice modelling, Traffic flow theory, Microscopic simulation models, Random models of traffic and queuing models.Part 3: Assignment and Route Choice ModelsThis part includes route choice studies; traffic assignment models (including capacity restrained and stochastic methods); elastic demand methods; matrix estimation. Overview of currently used transport modelling software.

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