Transportation Demand Management

Focus on Engaging the Business Community

With limited resources to build new capacity and continued employment growth, Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies are a cost-effective, complementary, and efficient alternatives to additional investment in transportation facilities. Consequently, TDM will become a bigger part of the effort to achieve Boulder's transportation objectives. Over the past few years, the business community has become more proactive in providing travel choices for their employees through support of programs like the Eco Pass. The community must build on its partnerships with business to both achieve the transportation objectives and to continue as an attractive and vital employment and commercial center.

A promising TDM strategy supports the formulation of organizing structures such as Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) [see details on BIDs as funding option] and Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs). These organizations allow local business and residents to partner with the city to provide better access in a given area, such as occurs in the downtown area. A  Transportation Options Toolkit  has been developed to help businesses make economical choices for customers' and employees' access and to retain valuable employees. A BID has a broad charge and can be found to undertake a wide variety of activities, such as enhancing the amenities of an area to attract and maintain customers or marketing the area, with travel management being only a small part of its activities.

What is Transportation Demand Management (TDM)?

TDM promotes more efficient use of the existing transportation systems by influencing the time, route or mode selected for a given trip. TDM strategies increase travel choices, offering the opportunity to choose how, when and, if travel will be by car or in some other way, with the aim of balancing demand with the transportation system. Options include:

• Modal strategies such as vanpools and teleworking;
• Incentives such as Eco Passes and Commuter Clubs;
• Specialized services such as shuttles; and
• Design improvements such as bike lockers and preferential parking for ridesharing.

Besides city-wide and employers programs, localized Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs) are potential organizing structures for providing area-wide improvements and parking management programs.

Boulder's application of TDM continues to evolve, responding to the community's experience, the changing nature of transportation challenges and individual travel preferences. With a historic emphasis on mode shift, many of Boulder's current TDM efforts focus on modal choice. This requires first providing the options, such as starting high-frequency transit or building a bike facility and then supporting them through education, incentives and marketing efforts. However, other aspects of TDM focus more on congestion by efficiently using the full capacity of the existing transportation system. TDM is a much more cost-effective strategy than trying to build a system to meet peak demand, and offers significantly fewer community and environmental impacts.

Today, with the expected increase in employee travel, TDM emerges as a critical component for maximizing the city's multimodal infrastructure investments. TDM, pursued in partnership between the public and private sectors, includes the following benefits:

• Improved access;
• Improved mobility;
• Enhanced access to employees;
• Improved employee retention;
• Increased customer parking availability at peak times;
• Tax benefits;
• Cost savings to employers; and
• Decreased congestion and air pollution.

Why Transportation Demand Management (TDM)?

TDM and the Boulder Business Community

Representatives from Boulder businesses and community organizations participated in building a business-friendly TDM program (see Public Process Related to TDM). This group established these guiding principles for the city in pursuing TDM:

• Provide Tools and Resources for Employers and Property Owners to Implement TDM.
  The  Transportation Options Toolkit guides employers and developers in designing a site-based TDM program tailored to help them make economical and effective choices for customers’ and employees’ access and mobility.
  
  
• Emphasize Incentives.
  For employers and developers, incentives involve receiving a return for conducting TDM, such as preferential treatment in the development review process or bonuses in the development process. Travelers and commuters, on the other hand, identify incentives as reasons to utilize modal alternatives to driving alone that do not penalize those who continue to drive alone. These incentives can include subsidies, transit passes, and financial incentives.
  
  
• Encourage the Development of Organizations that Coordinate Transportation Needs Through Public-Private Partnerships.
  A key TDM strategy supports the formation of organizing structures such as General/Business Improvement Districts (G/BIDs) and Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs). These organizations allow local business, property owners, and residents to partner with the city to coordinate and implement comprehensive transportation services and infrastructure within a localized area.

These guiding principles are reflected in the TDM policies and in how TDM is being implemented.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 October 2012 08:16