Under contract to the Directorate-General of Transport and the Directorate-General of Public Works and Water Management, a study was undertaken to compare traffic forecasts for selected European countries. The forecasting models reviewed cover both person travel and freight traffic. This is the main report of the research project. In addition to this report, there is a second volume with more detailed information on forecasting procedures and characteristics on a country by country basis, as gathered in the course of the project. The appendices report is entitled `International Comparison of Forecasts, Appendices, report number 505112, HCG, The Hague, 1996. The project has been carried out by Hague Consulting Group, The Hague, Paris and Cambridge. The objective of the project is: to provide information on traffic and transport forecasts in selected European countries and in the European Union and for this information to be compared with the Netherlands. The emphasis has been on strategic traffic and transport forecasting systems which are used for policy evaluation at the national level. The research aimed to provide answers to specific questions, such as: a) Which traffic forecasts are being produced?; b) What model types form the basis for the forecasts and what major assumptions are used?; c) Which organisations provide the forecasts?; d) What is the status of these forecasts?; e) How often are the forecasts produced and what are the current base and forecast year?; and f) Are the forecasts publicly available? To provide answers to these questions, desk top research has been carried out using available relevant documents. The main data, however, has been collected through telephone and fax contacts and by means of questionnaires which were presented to representatives of selected countries. A limited number of face to face interviews was carried out. This document contains the main findings of the project, providing general information on the traffic and transport forecasts for the selected countries and a comparison of the forecasts in these countries The Netherlands.
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