Regional Travel Demand Management Study
Travel Demand Management (TDM) describes a wide range of strategies that support the most efficient use of the transportation system by making personal travel options more flexible, clear, or convenient. These strategies can include promoting travel options like transit, biking, walking, and ridesharing. They can also make it possible to shift from peak-period congested corridors to off-peak periods, or eliminate trips altogether through strategies like telework.
The region’s transportation system should be designed to meet the travel needs of all the residents in our growing region. TDM strategies can help meet that need. The Metropolitan Council hired a team led by ICF for the Regional Travel Demand Management Study to evaluate TDM in the region and prepare an Action Plan that will feed into the 2050 Transportation Policy Plan and guide an expanded set of regional TDM activities.
Study goals
The study aimed to understand:
- How TDM can support regional planning goals and objectives
- Short and long-term opportunities and challenges for TDM in the region
- How the Met Council, its planning and implementation partners, and the private and nonprofit sectors can better support TDM
The study outcomes help the Met Council and these implementation partners prepare for leveraging federal investments, and support TDM strategies that are essential to the livability and prosperity of the Twin Cities metropolitan region.
Process
Stakeholder perspectives were critical in making sure that the region can act on the selected TDM strategies. These views helped study outcomes align with the needs and interests of all transportation system users. The study team reached out to a broad group of stakeholders through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and workshops, to hear from voices throughout the region.
A technical advisory team also provided strategic direction and input. The team included a mix of TDM practitioners including planners and policymakers, to provide a range of perspectives. Members included representatives from the Met Council, transit providers, Minnesota Department of Transportation, the four regional transportation management organizations, local governments, and other transportation providers and organizations.
Study deliverables
The Regional TDM Study prepared a number of memorandums prior to and in support of the Action Plan deliverable. These memorandums describe the study process, outcomes of each phase, and any engagement that was conducted during the different phases of the study.
On request, these documents can be made available in alternative formats. Call Metropolitan Council public information at 651-602-1140 or TTY 651-291-0904.