Better road use forecasts needed: Truss FEDERAL Transport Minister Warren Truss says better patronage modelling is needed to improve "shaky" investor confidence in road projects, after poor forecasting led to a number of private sector failures. Speaking at an infrastructure conference in Sydney, Mr Truss said the federal government would have to "be creative and think outside the box" when it came to infrastructure funding because of budget constraints. The government has promised funding to a host of major road projects around the country and Mr Truss said maximising private sector investment would be a key plank of its strategy. However, he pointed to the commercial failures of Sydney's Cross City Tunnel and Lane Cove Tunnel, and Brisbane's Clem 7, all of which were beset by grossly inflated patronage numbers. "Investor confidence is shaky, with overblown patronage forecasts contributing to some well-reported commercial failures," Mr Truss told the conference on Friday. A study of five Australian toll roads found that actual traffic volumes were, on average, 45 per cent less than forecast in the first year of operation. We recognise that getting patronage forecasting right, including improved modelling, is one of the keys to boosting investor confidence.