Active Transportation and Demand Management
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21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

FHWA Active Transportation and Demand Management Program

About ATDM > FHWA Active Transportation and Demand Management Program

The Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) program is intended to support agencies and regions considering moving towards an active management approach. Through customized workshops, tools, guidance documents, resources, and peer exchanges, the program can assist with technical support to implement ATDM strategies. Importantly, ATDM is not an exclusive program restricted to specific agencies. Every agency that is considering moving towards active and dynamic capabilities can benefit from the ATDM program's efforts.

The antecedents of the ATDM program in the United States emerge from international experience with active traffic management on key highways as well as observing how travel demand management and traffic management are more closely integrated in some other countries.

Program Vision

The FHWA ATDM Program vision is for agencies to embrace the ATDM concept by proactively and holistically managing traffic flow, travel demand, and the transportation system based on prevailing and predicted conditions using real-time operational strategies to achieve established performance goals.

PROGRAM GOALS

The ATDM Program has two major goals, both of which are geared towards proactive and holistic management of transportation systems. The goals also reflect the “deep and wide” nature of the ATDM Program. It is deep because it goes beyond traditional static and reactive approaches to transportation systems management by emphasizing the need to evolve towards a more proactive and dynamic management philosophy. In terms of width, the ATDM Program promotes holistically integrating demand and parking management with traffic management operations, thereby influencing the entire trip chain. The two program goals are presented below.

Program Goal 1

The first goal of the ATDM Program is for transportation agencies to proactively and dynamically manage their transportation system to achieve established performance objectives in trip reliability, mobility, and safety.

Program Goal 2

The second goal of the ATDM Program is to reach a state where transportation agencies are holistically managing the entire trip chain by integrating traffic, demand, and parking management operational strategies to achieve established performance objectives in trip reliability, mobility, and safety.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

To fulfill the goals of the ATDM Program, specific objectives were defined for each goal. They are presented below.

Program Objectives for Goal 1

  1. Conduct fundamental or applied research on prediction, decision support system (DSS), automation and algorithms, and other related capabilities and tools for proactive management and the use of data from emerging technologies for estimating established performance measures.
  2. Document and share improvements in trip reliability, mobility, and safety across various deployment levels due to adoption of active management concepts.
  3. Define and track deployment metrics associated with the adoption of active management concepts.
  4. Establish and provide technical assistance and peer exchange opportunities to cohorts of potential ATDM deployers to encourage other agencies to adopt and implement ATDM concepts.
  5. Encourage and provide technical assistance to agencies to measure and report performance in systems where active management concepts become operational.
  6. Increase awareness and understanding of active management concepts among internal (FHWA Division Office Operations Specialists) and external (local agencies, consultants, vendors) stakeholder groups through knowledge and technology transfer activities.

Program Objectives for Goal 2

  1. Establish linkages and collaborations with other FHWA programs to enable agencies to develop transportation solutions more holistically that manage the entire trip chain.
  2. Develop capabilities, tools, and guidance on how to more holistically manage the entire trip chain.
  3. Document and share improvements in trip reliability, mobility, and safety due to integration of traffic, demand, and parking management strategies and technologies.
  4. Define and track deployment metrics associated with the integration of traffic, demand, and parking management.
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