Italplan carries out, in the planning field, detailed analysis of transportation demand. The study of this demand plays a central role in the evaluation and modelling of transportation systems, assessing the impact deriving from modifications to the system, such as the improvement or introduction of infrastructures and services.
A transportation system is defined as a series of components and their interactions which cause a demand for trips between various points of a territory and the services available in order to meet this demand. The supply of services available is determined through the evaluation and study of the various types of traffic existing or simulated. Each element of the transportation system is studied by observing its peculiarities (geometrical characteristics, travel time, reliability, cost, accessibility to public services etc.) and according to its integration with the other infrastructures and means of transport that are already part of the system.
The transportation demand represents the passengers and goods that will travel within a given area.  It may be schematized as a sequence of choices and can be mathematically summarized as the product of a number of shares that is equal to the number of choices (number of trips, destination and means of transport). An estimate of the individual shares may be reached by using two approaches: direct estimation and estimation using a model. The first approach foresees estimation of the shares of demand by using purely statistical techniques; the second consists in formulating econometric models that are capable of reproducing the behaviour of the current users of the transportation system and in the use of intervention scenarios.
The transportation demand studies that Italplan carries out are based on: household and cordon surveys, characterization of the supply available from qualitative and quantitative points of view and according to the type of services available in the areas involved, formulation and analysis of alternative scenarios, calibration of the macro and microeconomic demand models and definition of the transferred and induced demand in forecasts of the future.
Italplan makes use of the best informatics resources, remaining constantly up-to-date with the latest developments regarding the creation of computer programs.  Italplan operates in the field of traffic analysis studies by means of the development of dedicated software that helps the entire planning process. Software for the creation of timetables and software for railway traffic simulation have already been implemented and are therefore available.