Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) Strategies
Transportation Systems Management and Operations also called Management and Operations (M&O) strategies, are defined in the 2012 legislation "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century" (MAP-21) as "integrated strategies to optimize the performance of existing infrastructure through the implementation of multimodal and intermodal, cross-jurisdictional systems, services, and projects designed to preserve capacity and improve security, safety, and reliability of the transportation system."
TSMO strategies can be applied at various levels (e.g., regional, corridor, and project levels) and address multiple modes (e.g., highway, transit, multimodal). They can be integrated into capacity, preservation, and safety projects. Many M&O strategies enable transportation agencies to provide better customer service in the near-term without incurring the high costs and time to implement major infrastructure projects.
TSMO strategies can encompasses many activities and applications. To see how TSMO has been successfully implemented to solve real world transportation challenges see the brochure Transportation Systems Management and Operations in Action.
Illustrative Deployment Packages of TSMO Strategies in Corridors and Subareas: A Primer. This primer showcases six illustrative packages of TSMO strategy deployments with varied geographic, social, and institutional contexts. The primer will enable planners and transportation engineers to think beyond deploying TSMO on a project-by-project basis to defining and advancing a "package" of project deployments, institutional advancements, and programs.
Specific TSMO program areas and FHWA resources that are available FHWA resources to support those programs include:
Active Transportation and Demand Management. The dynamic management, control, and influence of travel demand, traffic demand, and traffic flow on transportation facilities.
Arterial Management. The management of arterial facilities in a manner that provides users with a safe, efficient, and reliable trip.
Bottleneck Mitigation. Focuses on recurring bottlenecks; i.e., those that are operationally influenced by design or function, and are impacted upon by traffic over-demand.
Congestion Pricing. Encompasses roadway pricing that varies by time of day based on the level of congestion on the facility.
Integrated Corridor Management. An approach that focuses on collaborative management of the transportation corridor as a system, rather than the more traditional approach of managing individual assets on the corridor. Partners manage the corridor as an integrated asset in order to improve travel time reliability and predictability, help manage congestion and empower travelers through better information and more choices.
Emergency Transportation Operations. Providing users with a safe and efficient transportation system during an emergency situation.
Freeway Management. The implementation of policies, strategies, and technologies to improve freeway performance. The overriding objectives of freeway management programs include minimizing congestion (and its side effects), improving safety, and enhancing overall mobility.
Freight Technology and Operations. The effective management of the system for freight transportation. The goal of freight transportation is to move goods safely, efficiently, and reliably throughout the region. This may range from satisfying the customer (e.g., freight shippers, receivers, and carriers) to actual travel time on the system.
Incentives. Using behavioral economic approaches to help travelers consider alternate modes, departure times, or routes.
Managed Lanes. Highway facilities or a set of lanes where operational strategies are proactively implemented and managed in response to changing conditions.
Planned Special Events Traffic Management. Special event management provides users with a safe and efficiently managed transportation system during a planned special event.
Road Weather Management. Road weather management focuses on providing users with a safe and efficient transportation system during and after weather events.
Real Time Traveler Information. Traveler information is designed to provide transportation system users with the information they need to choose the safest and most efficient mode and route of travel.
Traffic Incident Management. Incident management is defined as verifying, responding to, and clearing traffic incidents in a manner that provides transportation system users with the least disruption.
Transit Operations and Management. Transit operations and management is the operation and management of the transit system in a safe and efficient manner.
Travel Demand Management. Travel demand management is defined as providing users with effective travel choices to shift or reduce the demand for travel in congested conditions.
Work Zone Management. Work zone management involves organizing and operating areas impacted by road or rail construction to minimize traffic delays, maintain safety for workers as well as travelers, and accomplish the work efficiently.
