Introduction

Our activities are focused on the organisation and development of passenger and goods transport, and within this, special emphasis is placed on local and point-to-point public highway traffic, planning of logistics centres, and combined transport. Our research work represents such references on the basis of which we have successfully applied for international tenders, and in recent years have led PHARE and EU- funded research, and cooperate in numerous international research consortia (Code-Ten, OSSA, INTERMODA, ITIP, UN-ECE, COST).

In the course of our work we are able to rely upon the support of teachers from the higher education institutions in the profession, and the cooperation of experts from abroad, with whom we have worked on numerous, high level research projects, which have subsequently been introduced into practice.

Our research work means that alongside plans actually appearing in practice, we are constantly developing new methods; we have created databases unique both in the profession and in Europe, thus serving both the future and our customers.

We play an active part in the modernisation of transport on public roads, and the seal of our work can be seen in the modernisation and periodic maintenance of the public transport of several cities. We have elaborated a broad and comprehensive computerised monitoring system at both city and county level. In recent years, we have prepared comprehensive passenger traffic records and line network rationalisation studies in 22 cities and 4 counties, commissioned by Volán companies and local governments. We participated in the elaboration of public transport concessions, and carry out continuous assessment on the point-to-point bus transport concession agreements entered into. We took part in the planning of the bus reconstruction of the Volán companies, and the modernisation of the tariff and financing systems of public highway transport. Preparation of a local and point-to-point customer satisfaction survey, at both national and company levels, was a significant result of our activities.

Staff from our department have played and continue to play a significant role in the drafting of the prevailing transport policy. The TRANSORG Department was the mother of the establishment of the Hungarian transport logistics network concept. Our colleagues cooperate in the organisational and technical establishment of each regional logistics centre.We play a part in the promotion and spread of environmentally friendly combined transport in Hungary (Huckepack, Ro-La, Ro-Ro), and the establishment of the optimal operating system from the point of view of the national economy.

Our department is constantly searching for newer answers for the more efficient problem-solving, using a wide range of computer technology suitable for a scientific research workshop. On this basis, applications in the field of passenger transport were prepared, such as the defining of the calculation of arrival times with computerised help in the "Line96 programme"; the processing and presentation of city and county level data on bus transport cross-section passenger transport measurement, for the purpose of supporting decision making, with the "BusCross family of programmes"; the processing of data received from the passenger surveys on purposeful travel, using the "Célforg" programme; and with the use of "METAL 97", which processes data on the county infrastructure closely related to the above.

Our goods transport database is capable of producing information, with which, for example, we can provide and predict trends in movements goods types, even for freely selected areas within an individual region.

Development of transport networks ensures the infrastructural conditions for the satisfaction, and at suitable levels, of long-term travel and shipment demands. In order to carry out the activities in the area of preparations for decision-making, it is indispensable to have up to date knowledge of and continuous and in-depth research into transport procedures, and the reciprocal effects of society, the economy and transport.

The department and its predecessors have accumulated more than 20 years' experience in their professional field. In addition to this, the foundations for decisions on network development are assured by the use of modern procedures and equipment based on our own research into the determination of the basic transport relationships.

The continuous training of our staff, together with a good knowledge of foreign languages, means that we are able to satisfy greater and greater customer demands.

The work of the department is helped by state of the art computer equipment. In the performance of our work on network development we rely on a detailed modelling and evaluation system, unique in Hungary and developed by our staff, and based on the EMME/2 traffic load programme package. We have achieved significant results in the numerical calculation of the various effects of transport on society and the environment, and in the use of these in decision-making procedures. Our mobile equipment for traffic counting, vehicle categorisation and speed measuring have made it possible to make fast and accurate measurements of the characteristics of the breakdown of traffic.