A STREAMLINED APPROACH FOR THE PREPARATION OF PACKAGE BIDS

The U.K. Department of Transport is seeking bids from local governments based on the Package Approach, in which a combination of measures is used to achieve transport policy objectives. Many such bids will be based on predictive models, but even recent model developments do not permit every combination of measures to be tested. As a result, optimal solutions may be overlooked. This paper describes a methodology for identifying those strategies which perform best against given objectives using a limited number of model tests. Relationships between policy measures and key indicators of system performance are approximated by relatively simple regression models, whose coefficients are then used to help identify the optimal combination of measures. The paper outlines the development of the approach, using a hypothetical strategic model, PLUTO. It then describes tests of the approach using a strategic model for Edinburgh.