Information about travel behaviour and transport operations is a necessary input to a range of policy and design processes. However,such information is difficult and expensive to collect and to keep current, and as a result it is collected infrequently. Consequently many cities have had to rely on travel information which is increasingly out of date. Moreover, the last decade has seen significant advances in knowledge and understanding of travel and the factors influencing it, together with substantial improvements in data collection techniques, information systems management, etc. The issues that can be usefully addressed with the assistance of travel and transport information have extended beyond those considered in previous times, with the result that the uses to which data can be put have changed. Before proceeding to design and conduct another major travel survey, the Victorian Ministry of Transport decided to commission a research project (the Melbourne Travel Survey Research Project (MTSRP), to review the broader issues that set the context within which such a survey could be undertaken. The project aimed to ensure that the new travel survey will seek relevant, accurate and timely information, and will be undertaken using the most appropriate techniques in the most cost effective manner. This paper summarises the results of MTSRP. In essence, it is a state of the art review of current practice in the field. It provides guidance and recommendations on: (a) the range of policy, planning and other issues for which travel and transport systems information is required; (b) current practice in data collection methodology and techniques; (c) the uses which may productively and beneficially be made of transport data, and (d) current practice and possibilities for the management, storage and retrieval of transport information.
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