Transportation-demand management, or TDM, succinctly is described as being "the art of influencing traveler behavior for the purpose of reducing or redistributing travel demand." The primary purpose of TDM is to reduce the number of vehicles using highway facilities while providing a wide variety of mobility options for those who wish to travel.

TDM strategies include:

• Public mode support -- Publicly provided alternatives to single- occupant- vehicle travel, including services and facilities that encourage and support other travel modes.
• Employer-based support -- Private-sector programs and services that encourage employees to change their commuting practices. Strategies include incentives that make publicly provided travel modes more attractive, disincentives to solo commuting and employer management policies that offer employees flexibility in travel mode choices.
• Pricing -- Taxing and pricing mechanisms that affect the cost of transportation and thereby provide monetary disincentives to some travel behaviors.
• Telecommunications -- Emerging demand-management solutions that are based on advanced telecommunications technologies.
• Land-use policies -- Potentially the most effective long-term TDM strategies which have the abilities to shape population density, urban design, land-use mix, travel needs and travel patterns.
• Public policy and regulation -- Restrictions and regulations that govern private vehicle use and provide political support and guidance to new institutional relationships.

Why commuters?
A major emphasis of TDM strategies and actions exists to reduce single- occupant- vehicle travel and the number of trips made by single- occupant vehicles. Reducing this type of travel limits congestion and enables the existing transportation infrastructure to move traffic more efficiently. Commuters frequently are the focus of TDM actions because of their regular, predictable driving patterns, the possibilities of employer partnerships and the opportunities for ride-sharing programs.

GVF offers this service to partners as part of their membership in the TMA.