Congressional Climate Report Recommends TDM

Rob Henry, Executive Director for GVF, currently serves as the Chair of the Public Policy Committee for the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT), which is the premier TDM organization in the United States. He is also serving as the Immediate Past President.

We are excited to announce ACT's advocacy has led to the inclusion of TDM in House Select Committee climate report.

• The Committee recommends Congress pass legislation requiring MPOs and state, local, and tribal governments to use TDM as a tool in curbing greenhouse gas emissions

• The Climate Crisis Action Plan would put the country on a path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis has included Transportation Demand Management as a key strategy for building a cleaner and more resilient transportation sector within its just released report titled Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.

Citing ACT's recent letter to the House T&I Committee, information on TDM in the report can be found on page 118 of the document (109 of the report) and below:

"Building Block: Require States and Metropolitan Planning Organizations to Deploy Transportation Demand Management

Transportation demand management (TDM) is a strategy to “inform and encourage travelers to maximize the efficiency of a transportation system leading to improved mobility, reduced congestion, and lower vehicle emissions.” Similar to demand response programs in the electricity sector, TDM helps to reduce peak demand on America’s roadways. TDM strategies include “the use of planning, programs, policy, marketing, communications, incentives, pricing, and technology to shift travel mode, routes used, departure times, number of trips,” and other decisions that result in less single-occupancy vehicle traffic.

Section 1306 of the House Democrats’ infrastructure bill, the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), establishes a $250 million grant program to reduce traffic gridlock in large metropolitan areas. The program supports projects to mitigate the adverse impacts of traffic congestion, including pollution; maximize the efficiency of existing roadway capacity; and employ innovative solutions for reducing gridlock. TDM is eligible for funding.

Recommendation: Congress should pass legislation to deploy TDM strategies across the country. Congress should require MPOs to consider TDM as a tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide households with alternatives to driving. Congress also should ensure local, state, and tribal governments interested in implementing TDM within their jurisdictions have the resources they need, including technical assistance."