Transportation Demand Management - Home Page

Traditional efforts to meet increasing travel demand are typically based on a supply-oriented approach largely supported by the lack of physical and fiscal limitations on where, when, and how additional capacity can be deployed. However, transportation agencies have also promoted strategies to reduce demand and subsequent congestion during peak commuting times through demand-based strategies, including vanpooling, ridesharing, teleworking, and flexible work hours/days. Although these approaches to reducing single-occupant vehicle (SOV) travel are fundamental components of transportation demand management (TDM) today, they are joined by other strategies that provide an expanded choice for all travelers, influencing behavior that uses the existing built environment more efficiently and sustainably.

Twenty-first century transportation systems, particularly those in major urban areas, face significant physical constraints (in terms of what capacity can be expanded or developed and where) and funding constraints (in terms of available revenue to make those improvements). For TDM to be truly effective, it must be supported by land use policies and neighborhood design that reduce the need to drive for daily tasks.