114939 | Regional TDM Program (Various)

TDM focuses on the many options available to residents to travel to and from work, as well as to get around our region, in a coordinated, cost-effective, and environmentally-positive way. It centers on the strategies that more efficiently distribute travel demand across all modes, and especially reduce single-occupant vehicle (SOV) travel. An important element of TDM is providing public education and outreach to commuters, employers, residents and visitors within our region about available travel options, and providing a mix of incentives to encourage behavior change toward more efficient use of the regional transportation system. Traditional TDM strategies include public transportation and biking/walking incentives, forming car and van pools - often facilitated by robust park-and-ride lot options - as well as encouraging adding flextime and compressed work weeks, telework plans, and emergency ride home programs into an employer's benefits package.
The time is right for a fresh approach to TDM in the DVRPC region. Recent major technological developments have changed the way the public considers and makes transportation choices. Mapping applications in wide use like Waze and Google Maps are themselves a form of TDM, enabling a more efficient use of transportation networks but not reducing SOV demand. New mobility options like ride-hailing services (uber, lyft, etc.), bike share, and e-bike and e-scooter rentals are being developed and evolving rapidly, and are increasingly linked into shared scheduling and trip purchasing platforms - "mobility as a service (MaaS)." These new technologies and modes, and the changes to travel patterns they have enabled, have also led to more exploration of larger TDM-related policy initiatives and Transportation Control Measures (TCM), such as variable road pricing, trip-reduction ordinances, and transit benefit ordinance requirements. All of these conditions warrant a fresh consideration of which TDM or TCM strategies can work most effectively in the greater Philadelphia region.
Although DVRPC has long included TDM as an element in many individual projects and efforts, there has not been, to date, a formal, coordinated TDM program for the full DVRPC service region. This new coordinated program of projects and activities will help DVRPC and its planning partners better address growing transportation-related needs and challenges, particularly the need to reduce congestion and improve air quality. In coordination with the development of the Commission's 2050 Long-Range Plan, new regional TDM direction and efforts will allow for a broad and strategic approach to TDM in the region, which differs from the mostly ad hoc and service area-based approach used now.
A performance-based and outcome-driven approach to evaluating and undertaking projects will help staff and stakeholders strengthen existing TDM programs, and pilot new initiatives that can serve as a foundation for the future regional TDM portfolio.
CMAQ-funded activities carried out through this program are eligible under FHWA's 2013 CMAQ Guidance VII.F.5. Transportation Control Measures; VII.F.8. Travel Demand Management; and VII.F.9.Public Education and Outreach Activities. Additional Innovative Projects, to be determined, may also be eligible for the use of CMAQ funding under section VII.F.16.

No milestones are available for this project.