Traffic Congestion

Traffic congestion is a major predicament in our country and across the world.
There are many solutions to alleviate this problem such as widening highways
and the rapid rail transit which are all part of Traffic Management.
People need to focus on not only the alleviation, but the elimination of the
actual root causes & contributing factors of traffic congestion, which is our
actual transportation system. This can be done through transportation demand
management.

Transportation Demand
Management
Transportation / Travel or Traffic demand management
(all TDM) are a set of strategic initiatives designed to:
decrease travel demand
encourage alternatives to the single occupant vehicle trip

to transfer this demand to various choices of modes,

locations, route and time to people who travel.

STRATEGIES OF
TRANSPORTATION
DEMAND
MANAGEMENT

High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (HOV)

This is a restricted traffic lane reserved for vehicles

carrying a minimum 2 or more people. Carpools or
vanpools can also travel along these lanes. If space is
available, others can pay a fee.

Well Organized Transit System

Delivers high quality passenger transport services:
Safe
Cost effective
Comfortable

Should be strictly on-time.

Should be commuter friendly.

Parking Management

Parking Management
Parking management should be implemented to control,
standardize or limit on/off street parking and corridor parking.
Improved marketing provide accurate parking availability

information to people (sign, maps, e-mail).

Parking Pricing Drivers should be charged directly for parking.

Land Use Developments and Transportation

Planning
Land use development has an impact on transport planning and
vice versa. Development patterns and community design
characteristics significantly influence the distance and manner
that people travel.
Smart Growth- Individuals who live and work in the same

community are more inclined to drive less and thus they rely
more on alternate modes such as walking or cycling.

Schools, Government Offices- If these institutions are located

in more convenient and high density locations, the need for

travel can be significantly reduced.

Alternative Work Hours

Staggered hours- Shifts are staggered to minimize the number

of employees arriving and leaving a worksite at one time. For

example, some shifts may be 8:00 to 4:30, others 8:30 to 5:00.
Flexi time Employees are permitted some flexibility in their

daily work schedules. For example, rather than all employees

working 8:00 to 4:30, some might work 7:30 to 4:00.
Compressed workweek- Term used when employees work

fewer but longer days, such as four 10-hour days each week
(4/40)

Ridesharing

Ridesharing
Carpooling - uses participants own automobiles. Either

using ones car and sharing expenses, or rotating vehicle

use so that no money changes hands.
Vanpooling uses vans (company sponsored, third party

and owner operated). For most vanpools, operating costs

are divided by individual participants.
Buspooling Initiated by employers or residents

Road Congestion Pricing

Drivers can be charged a price for the use of a specific

road.
Drivers will react to this cost by accepting it, adopting
another mode of transportation, going another route or
foregoing the trip.

Advanced traffic management

Real-time traffic adaptive signal control system traffic

signal changes based on actual traffic demand

Incident detection equipment
Emergency and transit pre-emption equipment- Allows
signal to change based on the approach of a specific type
of vehicle.

Education of travelers
This can being done through:
Transportation fairs
Media
Public meetings

Telecommuting
The practice of working from home using communications
devices such as computers, fax machines and modems.

Traffic Information
Timely information about current traffic conditions
(including accidents etc.) can alert commuters, thus
prompting them to divert from congested areas..

BENEFITS OF TDM
Reduces pollution
Reduces traffic congestion

Promotes lower cost to private vehicle owners

Provision of a balance between transportation modes

REFERENCES
Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington. (2011).

Transportation Demand Management. Retrieved 10 September

2013 from: http://www.mrsc.org/subjects/transpo/tdm.aspx

Halifax regional municipality. (2013). Transportation demand

management.
Retrieved
10
http://www.halifax.ca/TDM/

September

2013

from:

Victoria Transport Policy Institute. (2013). TDM Encyclopedia.

Retrieved
9
September
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm28.htm

2013

from: