Goal

Reduce vehicle travel demand throughout the system.

Sustainability Linkage

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) supports all of the triple bottom line principles by reducing energy consumption and related emissions, improving awareness of available travel choices, and reducing costs of travel and congestion. 

Background & Scoring Requirements

Background

This criterion relates to SPS-14: Transportation Systems Management & Operations; while both can help to mitigate congestion, SPS-09 focuses primarily on reducing SOV travel demand and SPS-14 focuses on optimizing the efficiency of the transportation system. Accordingly, the spatial or temporal shifting of travel demand to off-peak periods and less congested facilities is covered in SPS-14.

It is important to clarify that this criterion is specific to planning for the transportation facilities that an agency owns and operates. Criterion OM-01 includes Travel Demand Management options specific to an agency’s internal staff and operations. For the purposes of this criterion, the key terms are defined as follows:

• “Transportation Management Organization (TMO)” refers to an independent entity dedicated to solving transportation problems in a particular geographic area through actively managing transportation demand and encouraging alternate travel modes.
• “TDM Program” means the coordinated & consistent implementation of strategies that aim to reduce SOV travel demand and/or redistribute that demand in space and time.

TDM is a tool that seeks to reduce vehicle travel by making it easier for travelers to elect travel options other than driving alone (such as transit, bicycle, walking, ridesharing, and teleworking). Common types of TDM strategies that might be implemented by a DOT include, but are not limited to:

1. Education and outreach programs on Travel options (can include integrating programs developed by regional agencies)
2. Rideshare and car-sharing programs
3. Road/vehicle pricing policies
4. Land use policies that promote a mixed-use, transit-oriented development, pedestrian-friendly built environment (coordination with partner agencies)

In addition, regional agencies may implement some of the following TDM strategies:

5. Challenge/incentive programs for non-auto modes
6. Parking pricing and policies
7. Employer trip reduction programs (e.g., transit benefits, trip end facilities, parking cash-out programs, teleworking, etc)
8. Transportation Management Organizations (TMO), among others

These strategies represent a range of approaches to TDM, including those that are more appropriate for implementation at the state level (e.g., road/vehicle pricing policies, etc.) and those that are more appropriate for implementation at the MPO and/or local government level (e.g., land use policies, parking policies, etc.). Additionally, some of these strategies may work best in urban contexts (e.g., TMOs), while others are well suited to either urban or rural settings (e.g., rideshare programs). Additional TDM guidance and reference materials are available on FHWA’s Travel Demand Management Website¹.

The requirements for earning points under this criterion are described below. To achieve the most points, TDM performance measures and a means of quantifiably assessing outcomes is required. It should be noted that for all the scoring requirements below, an agency may earn the points for implementing the requirements themselves or for providing support/funding (such as grants or technical assistance) to other agencies within its jurisdiction (e.g., transit agencies, MPOs, councils of governments (COGs), public-private partnerships, and/or non-profit agencies, etc.) for achieving the requirements. This may often be the case for state DOTs.

Scoring Requirements

Requirement SPS-09.1

1-3 points. Set TDM Goals and Objectives

Scoring is based on the following, cumulative requirements:

• Requirement SPS-09.1a

1 point. Develop TDM Goal and Objective Supportive of Metropolitan Goals and Objectives

The statewide agency includes a goal and objective to coordinate and support TDM activities of its regional and metropolitan partner agencies.

• Requirement SPS-09.1b

2 additional points. Develop Quantifiable TDM Goals and Objectives

The agency has developed quantifiable TDM goals and objectives for reducing travel demand for the transportation network within its jurisdiction in coordination with partner agencies. Examples of TDM goals and objectives include vehicle miles of travel (VMT) reduction goals, transportation options goals, and/or mode split targets.

Requirement SPS-09.2

3 or 6 points. Implement a TDM Program

The agency is implementing a comprehensive TDM program that includes several of the various types of TDM strategies described in the Background paragraph above. One of the following scores applies:

• 0 points. The agency is implementing less than two of the TDM strategies described in the Background paragraph above.
• 3 points. The agency is implementing a TDM program that includes two or three of the TDM strategies described in the Background paragraph above.
• 6 points. The agency is implementing a comprehensive TDM program that includes several (four or more) of the TDM strategies described in the Background paragraph above.

Requirement SPS-09.3

2 or 4 points. Develop TDM Performance Measures & Monitor Progress

The agency has quantifiable TDM performance measures and can demonstrate ongoing monitoring of its TDM program. Examples of common TDM performance measures include non-SOV mode share, VMT reduced, and vehicle trips reduced. Additionally, TDM performance measures may assess the success of TDM education and outreach programs by tracking the number of participants in various TDM programs or surveys. Additional examples of performance measures can be found in NCHRP’s Report 708: A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies². One of the following scores applies:

• 0 points. The agency does not have TDM performance measures and is not conducting ongoing monitoring of their TDM program.
• 2 points. The agency has quantifiable TDM performance measures, but is not conducting ongoing monitoring of their TDM program.
• 4 points. The agency has quantifiable TDM performance measures and can demonstrate ongoing monitoring of their TDM program.

Requirement SPS-09.4

2 points. Demonstrate Sustainable Outcomes

Monitor progress towards goals for at least one year after goal establishment using the performance measures established in SPSR-09.3 and show measurable advancement towards stated goals. 

Resources

The following resources are referenced in this criterion and consolidated here:

1. FHWA, Travel Demand Management Website, http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tdm/index.htm
2. NCHRP, Report 708: A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies, http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_708.pdf

Scoring Sources

The program is considered to have met this criterion if the requirements above can be reasonably substantiated through the existence of one or more of the following documentation sources (or equal where not available):

1. Agency transportation plans (long range, corridor, CMP, non-motorized, project-selection criteria, etc.) that include a TDM component.
2. A published document, website, brochure, and/or administrative report (or equivalent) that provides evidence of the agency’s TDM goals and objectives.
3. Documentation of the implementation of the TDM strategies described in the Background section above.
4. An annual or periodically updated report of TDM program progress, which includes the TDM performance measures, baseline data collection, and the results from ongoing monitoring of the TDM program over time. This can be done independently or as part of an existing regular reporting cycle.
5. An independent review or TDM program evaluation.