Compare and contrast the transport planning models for passenger and Research Paper

Compare and contrast the transport planning models for passenger and freight transport - Research Paper Example Through such  information estimates are made about the effect of new  developments on  the amount of required  parking space and local  traffic volumes (Litman, 2012). Economic models focus on identifying  and comparing  the benefits  of certain  transportation improvements, like  the advantage  of expanding  a roadway or  improvement in public transit service.  They endeavor to  compare multifarious  classifications  of benefits and costs. They concentrate on  a comparatively  limited set of advantages.  For instance  they  often overlook  vehicle ownership cost savings and parking considerations that arise  due to  switching of travelers  from automobile travel to other  modes (TRB-Transportation Research Board). These models aim at anticipating the impact of  transportation improvements on land use patterns like the kind of  location and  development that  will evolve as a consequence of  improvement of  highway or transit service.  These are deemed to be  the best tools for analyzing  transportation programs and  policies (Litman, 2012).   The purpose of these  models is to  predict the effect of certain  vehicle  transport policies and projects on  fuel consumption  and pollution emissions. However  it is observed  that  traditional models mostly underscore  emission reductions and expansion of roadways while they  undermine  TDM strategies (Slack, 2013). Transport planning models for freight transport  focus more  on quantitative factors like  operating costs,  travel speed  and crash rates etc while planning models for passenger transport give more consideration to  qualitative factors like  travel convenience,  security and comfort of passengers (Slack,