The Thames Gateway area is recognised by central Government as a national priority for regeneration and growth, with the Thames Gateway South Essex area (TGSE) expected to receive significant growth over the next fifteen years, including 55,000 jobs and 37,000 dwellings. The regeneration of the TGSE area is gathering momentum with the decision to award the 2012 Olympic Games to London, and the Shellhaven London Gateway Port development.

The provision of high quality and reliable transport networks is fundamental to the successful delivery of these objectives. Adequate transport provision is needed so that access to key services is not undermined. In order to get an efficient strategic transport network there is a need to understand peoples current travel habits and how these may change as new developments and transport schemes are delivered within the TGSE area.

What is the Thames Gateway Model?
A Thames Gateway Model is being developed by Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock District Council. This Model will assist in three keys areas:

• The Model will look at future land-use scenarios and how these will influence future travel patterns.
• The Model will help to identify the transport schemes that will have the greatest benefits within the network and around the development/regeneration sites; and
• In order to deliver transport solutions within TGSE a significant amount of funding is needed; central Government provides much of this. This Model will help to build an appropriate case which will explain to central Government why there is a need for the suggested transport scheme, in an attempt to gain their funding.

In summary, this Model will be able to assess the future land-use and travel situation and test the various transport solutions to determine which transportation schemes will be the most effective.

How you can help
To build this Model we need to collect a lot of information about what travel movements are presently taking place in the TGSE area to help develop an accurate representation of what is going on.

This is where members of the public can help. We are going to be asking you for details of journeys that you are making within TGSE by all modes of transport (e.g. bus, car, cycling and walking). We have already surveyed rail passengers and, through May and June, we will be asking bus passengers and vehicle drivers about their journeys on that particular day.

While bus passengers on various services throughout the area will be given questionnaires to fill in during their journey, other surveys will involve stopping and interviewing vehicle drivers at the roadside on key routes. All of the surveys ask about journeys being made on that day.

The questionnaires will be very straight forward. We will ask about where you are going and where you have come from and why you are making the trip. We will need the postcodes or as much information as possible so that we can place the origin and destination of that journey within geographical zones. Once we have collected all of the trip data our interest is in the volume of trips between zones rather than any specific trip.

The aim of this is to build up an overall picture of the range of travel movements and the reasons for travelling in the area.

We will try at all times to limit delays but would ask the public to bear with us as, by causing some delays to journeys now, we will gather information that we need so that future journeys can be made more easily.

Data Protection Act
The data that we collect will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Essex County Council is the Data Controller.

What Next?
The results of the study will be publicised later and you will have the opportunity to see how contributions have assisted the local and regional planning process. This site will also be updated with the latest information on the Model.