Canberra Strategic Transport Model (CSTM)
The CSTM is the overarching strategic transport model for Canberra. Its primary function is to forecast travel demand for future land use and infrastructure scenarios and to provide estimates of traffic growth for operational models.
The CSTM is a trip-based 4-step multi-modal transport planning model hosted in TransCAD platform. It simulates where Canberrans are moving to and from based on trip purposes and land use, how Canberrans make the trips using generalised costs and trip propensities (e.g. by car, public transport and/or bicycle), and which routes of the network Canberrans are likely to take.
The CSTM was recalibrated based on 2016 ABS Census demographic and journey to work data, updated trip rates from the 2017 Household Travel Survey and traffic conditions. It comprises base case model scenarios for 2016, 2021, 2026, 2031 and 2041. In addition to ACT districts, it covers the NSW districts of Queanbeyan to the east and Yass Valley to the north.
The model simulates peak traffic based on assumptions including land-use (population, employment, retail space and enrolments), transport network (road, public transport, and bicycle) and transport cost parameters (parking, fuel costs and bus fares).
The basic CSTM outputs include volume-capacity (congestion) plots, plots showing forecast AM (8:00-9:00) and PM (5:00-6:00) peak volumes of car traffic, public transport passenger volumes and bicycle volumes in various model years, and origin-destination matrices by trip purposes and mode.
CSTM Enhancements and Recalibration
In early 2022 TCCS commissioned CSTM Enhancement Stage 1 to progress model improvements. These include:
- CSTM input data updates (zone structure and land use, transport networks – roads, public transport, park and ride, active travel, and cost parameters (value of time, parking costs)
- assignment improvements – volume delay functions, multi-class traffic assignment presenting traffic flows per trip purpose, and capacity constrained PT assignment
- updated model validation
At present, a recalibration of the CSTM based on 2023 conditions including the ABS Census demographics and journey to work data and travel trends based on 2022 Household Travel Survey is underway. The CSTM Recalibration and Enhancement Project is anticipated for completion by the first half of 2024.
Household Travel Survey Dashboard
The CSTM has been recalibrated using data from the 2017 ACT Household Travel Survey. The survey collected information about how, where and when members of a selected household travel over a single day.
A total of 1,785 households and 4,611 people in the ACT and Queanbeyan contributed to the survey and completed a travel diary for a single specified day.
The survey outcomes help inform transport planning and policy development for the ACT and Queanbeyan area.
A 2022 Household Travel Survey completed in August 2023, inform the recent CSTM recalibration. A total of 2,078 households and 5,106 people in the ACT and Queanbeyan contributed to the survey.
Data request and fees
From 1 July 2023 fees were introduced for transport and traffic data related requests. These fees are published on the TCCS website.
Please email your request for data to TCCS.DCDevelopmentCoordination@act.gov.au. TCCS will provide a link to the online application form where payment for the data request can be made. Following receipt of payment, we will notify you via email that your data request has been assigned to a project lead who will commence processing your request.
For information on timeframes for processing data requests, please see General Advisory Note 07 (PDF 331.1 KB), on the TCCS website.
Links
2017 ACT and Queanbeyan-Palerang Household Travel Survey
2022 ACT and Queanbeyan-Palerang Household Travel Survey