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ITE and Transoft Solutions Partner to Advance Trip Generation

By Mr. Thomas Brahms posted 05-03-2012 05:17 PM

  

In an effort to provide transportation professionals with a dynamic trip generation tool, ITE collaborated with Transoft Solutions to bring you OTISS—Online Traffic Impact Study Software—an on-demand, cloud-based application for performing traffic impact analyses. Built into the software are over 4,500 datasets, which form the basis of the eighth edition of ITE's Trip Generation.

Each partner was integral to the development of this dream-come-true software. ITE provided the intellectual data and guidance for its application, while Transoft Solutions provided its software development expertise.

OTISS gets to the core of ITE's purpose— to advance transportation knowledge and practices for the benefit of society. Furthermore, Transoft Solutions will be contributing a significant portion of the revenue generated from this software to ITE, providing the Institute with crucial funding that allows our organization to make significant impacts in the transportation community.

For more information, and a free trial, please visit otisstraffic.com.

About OTISS
OTiSS utilizes ITE trip generation data to assist transportation professionals, planners, and developers to forecast the number of vehicle trips that may be generated for a multi-use land development.The first cloud-based application of its kind, OTISS will allow the user to:
  • generate ITE Trip Generation Handbook graphs upon entering appropriate criteria;
  • easily view data points and clusters of data points through zooming functionality;
  • access time period trip analysis instantly;
  • produce trip calculation complete with: trip reductions, internal capture and by-pass trips adjustments;
  • save summary reports and export to an Excel file for further analysis; and 
  • manage project files on the cloud.
As a result of using OTISS, data entry and calculation errors are minimized. It also eliminates the tedious task of looking through volumes and creating complex spreadsheets manually. In addition, subscribing to a web-based solution will insure that you have access to software upgrades during the subscription period, eliminating the need for software installation and project migration. The OTISS interface is easy to use, produces automatic calculations, and allows quick access to summary reports - all of this translates into a solution that is reliable and time-saving.
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Mr. Milton Carrasco P.Eng
05-08-2012 03:56 PM

Hello Rebecca.
Thank you for comments. I thought it best that we (Transoft) respond to your comments, as some clarifications and additional commentary might help understand things better. I have copied your comments and responded to each one separately.
This blog presents the software as though it calculates pass by trips, internal capture, etc. But it does not.
>>> Transoft is developing this application with guidance from ITE staff, input from beta testers and guidelines provided in the Trip Generation Handbook. The application currently provides some limited default values – those that are provided in the Handbook. As with any engineering project, one is expected to exercise professional judgment. In the case of TIAs, this includes making appropriate decisions on matters related to pass-by trips, internal trip capture and trip reductions due to transit, TDM, etc. So to reiterate, OTISS does not automatically produce trip generation analysis, but facilitates the process.

This blog presents the software as though it is crucially important to be able to do trip generation calculations at 4 am, on "the cloud." It isn't.

>>> No-one is suggesting that one needs to do trip generation calculations at 4am, but the fact is the world is going to the cloud and we see similar benefits to having OTISS on the cloud. Our focus groups have endorsed this move. The positives being the ability to update the application, reduces IT maintenance issues, faster bug fix updates, etc. Maybe you haven’t had a need to compete a project into the wee hours of the morning and the books you needed were at the office……many have, I am sure, including yours truly!
Not to say this won't eventually be very good software.

>>> We share with you that this will be a phenomenal application too, in the not too distant future. Transoft has a proven track record and is one of the most successful transportation engineering software company in the world. Tom Brahms has been involved with us in planning the future enhancements of this application and has seen our detailed work plan. I have no doubt that you will be pleasantly surprised as we roll out new developments. ITE staff, involved with TG, too are equally excited about the future direction of this application and the huge benefits that digital access to the trip data can provide the profession.
But it is absolutely not worth the expensive, per-computer, ongoing subscription license fee, when any adjustments still need to be done by hand, and when there is other software out there which is a one-time purchase.

>>> It is our job to strike the right balance on pricing – i.e. a price that provides value to the user and one that can sustain future development work etc. Just to let you know that a new update with added features will be released in mid-July - all a result of the feedback we have received from our focus groups and due to the upcoming the 9th Ed of the TGIR. We strongly believe that OTISS is going to be well received by the professional community. The response to-date has been extremely promising. However, every engineer who provides TIA services, is free to use whatever tool/method they wish to use. ITE does not mandate the use of OTISS. Finally remember where we have come from since the days of Windows Version 1.0, or for that matter, AutoTURN 1.0?
Once again thanks for your comments. We need to hear the views of the profession so we can deliver the right solution.
Milton Carrasco, P.Eng.
Transoft Solutions, Inc.

Rebecca Goldberg P.E., PTOE
05-04-2012 02:13 PM

Mr. Brahms,
I don't mean to belittle what you wrote here, but I attended an ITE webinar on the OTiSS software, and I have to say that this blog and the software are *VERY* premature.
This blog presents the software as though it calculates pass by trips, internal capture, etc. But it does not.
This blog presents the software as though it is crucially important to be able to do trip generation calculations at 4 am, on "the cloud." It isn't.
Not to say this won't eventually be very good software.
But it is absolutely not worth the expensive, per-computer, ongoing subscription license fee, when any adjustments still need to be done by hand, and when there is other software out there which is a one-time purchase.
Respectfully (and looking forward to enhancements of this software),
Rebecca