TRICS® celebrates its 20th birthday with big programme of development

April 1st 2009 marked the 20th birthday of TRICS®, and to celebrate this milestone in the history of the system, a major programme of software development is underway, some of which has already been completed and is now available within the current version 2009(a)v6.3.1. This level of system enhancement in such a short space of time is unprecedented, and reflects our continued commitment to responding to feedback from everyone in the TRICS® Community.

The following system enhancements are being introduced this year:

• On-line Help Desk facility for all users (now available at www.trics.org)
• Geographic Map facility upgraded to Google Maps (now available)
• 5 new data regions introduced in Ireland (now available)
• Introduction of 3 new land use categories (now available)
• Significant enhancements to Residential site information (now available)
• PTAL information for new surveys in Greater London (available for future surveys)
• Survey counts by “Journey Purpose” introduced for SAM sites (available June 2009)
• Option to print trip rates for all modes simultaneously (available June 2009)
• Average modal split pie charts by user-defined time periods (available June 2009)
• On-screen “real time” user guide/tutorial (available June 2009)
• Facility to save work in progress (available June 2009)
• Trip rate graphs by mode available on the same screen (available June 2009)
• Instant trip rate calculations when viewing individual sites (available June 2009)
• Re-structuring of trip rate calculation process (available June 2009)
• Re-introduction of site filtering by public transport provision (available June 2009)

Version 2009(a)v6.3.1 also contained 164 new surveys, across a wide variety of land uses and regions, one of the largest ever additions for a single update.

Our unique, interactive approach to planning the future of TRICS®, involving everyone in the TRICS® Community, has made these developments possible, and we thank you all for your much valued input and feedback, which has resulted in an exciting year of system enhancement.  ▲

TRICS® Maintains its record data collection programme in 2009

This year, the record number of surveys undertaken in 2008 is being matched, with new sites covering all regions of the UK and Ireland. A total of 270 surveys are being carried out from April onwards, 170 of which are multi-modal in nature. TRICS® remains committed to a large programme of continuous data collection, with its 5,600 days of survey data significantly growing on an annual basis.  ▲

Licence fees frozen and quarterly payment option now available

The current economic situation has affected everyone in the TRICS® Community to some degree, so we were pleased to announce that licence fees from 1st April 2009 were to be frozen at 2008 levels.

We are also pleased to announce the availability of a quarterly payment option for all of our members. We understand that cash-flow can be an issue, and so this new option allows user organisations to spread the cost of their annual licences across four quarterly payments, rather than having to pay for their licence in one go. For those wishing to take up this offer, four invoices will be forwarded instead of one, at three-monthly intervals. This does not affect user expiry dates in any way, and all you need to do to set up this option is contact a member of the TRICS® Development Team.  ▲

New Help Desk facility now available

A new on-line TRICS® Help Desk facility has been launched, which has been designed to provide all members of the TRICS® Community with a structured and traceable system of user support, and a growing “knowledge base” library for their reference.

Whenever a user requires clarification or assistance, the Help Desk can be activated simply by clicking on the “Help” icon during use of TRICS®. As long as you are connected to the internet, select “Help Desk” from the two options available, and a new window will open. Registration as a client of the Help Desk is straightforward and speedy, and will allow you direct access to the TRICS® Development Team. Once registered, you are free to log help requests, and will be instantly informed of our responses. Those wishing to submit their support requests using the new facility will find it user-friendly and convenient, although telephone support will still be available to those that prefer this method.  ▲

Keep your off-line version of TRICS® current with automated update downloads

Users of the off-line downloadable version of TRICS® can now keep their version current with a new system of automated updates. At regular intervals, TRICS® will ask users if they want to check for and download system updates, which correct minor bugs etc. Users wishing to use this facility should of course be connected to the internet, and should contact their IT administrators should their access be restricted. Of course, the on-line version is always guaranteed to be the most up-to-date whenever users log on.  ▲

Free places for users at the 2009 TRICS® User Meetings

As usual, all TRICS® member organisations are offered free attendance at our forthcoming User Meetings to be held in June. This year’s events take place on the 17th of June at the Imperial War Museum in London, and on the 24th of June at the National Railway Museum in York. All member organisations would have already been sent a booking form for the 2009 events, which celebrate the 20th birthday of TRICS®, but should anyone require a form these can be downloaded from the TRICS® website at www.trics.org.

There are many interesting presentations scheduled, along with the usual “hands-on” workshop session which has proved very popular in recent years, and a chance to chat with fellow TRICS® users over coffee and lunch. The User Meetings are always popular with the TRICS® Community, so please ensure that you get your booking in as soon as you can to ensure your place at this year’s event.  ▲

Dates for 2009 Conference confirmed

We are pleased to confirm that the 21st annual TRICS® Conference is to be held in London at the Holiday Inn, Regents Park, on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th November 2009. As usual, the conference will include a number of papers covering a wide variety of industry-related topics. Please put these dates in your diary. Further details are to follow.  ▲

Free 1 month trial of TRICS® available

A free 1-month trial of the latest full version of TRICS® is available to all organisations upon request. Throughout the free trial period full technical support is available at no cost, and there is no obligation once the period has expired.

Many organisations have already found this trial useful. Anyone interested in the free trial should contact the TRICS® team.  ▲