Transportation Demand Management
Did you know the transportation sector is the largest contributor of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions in Sacramento?
The City’s draft Climate Action and Adaption Plan (CAAP) includes a goal to reduce Sacramento’s per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 63% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 100% by 2045. But how?
An important way to reduce GHG emissions produced by transportation is to encourage and enable people to switch from driving alone to more sustainable modes such as walking, biking, scooting, carpooling, and taking transit. The programs and policies that help achieve these goals are called Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and help by providing education, incentives, and other supportive services to connect travelers with other transportation options, and ultimately, reduce vehicle miles traveled.
To achieve climate action goals, the City of Sacramento is updating its TDM requirements to encourage a shift towards more efficient travel modes, thereby reducing GHG emissions, and helping the city create a more equitable, healthy, and vibrant community.
What is TDM?
TDM policies and programs encourage behaviors that reduce vehicle trips. This means making it more convenient, feasible, and attractive to take transit, ride a bike, or share their trip with other travelers.
The application of TDM policies and programs helps incentivize more transportation options than driving alone, reduce vehicle trips, and reduce traffic congestion. Employers, universities, hospitals, residential developments, and property managers often provide TDM programs such as monetary incentives, facilities, education, and encouragement events to connect employees, tenants, residents, and visitors with transportation choices. TDM programs help decrease reliance on single occupancy vehicles (SOV) by supporting transit, ridesharing, active transportation, and alternative work schedules.
Sacramento’s TDM history
The City of Sacramento currently has TDM requirements, also referred to as the Transportation Systems Management Plan, that was established in 1989 and its goals, applicability, mitigation strategies, and implementation procedures are out of date. The current TDM requirements are outlined in Chapter 17.700 Transportation Systems Management Program and establish requirements for employers and developers to reduce traffic congestion, optimize use of the transportation system, and improve air quality, all in furtherance of the city's General Plan goal to reduce vehicle miles traveled by 35 percent.
The list of strategies outlined in the existing TDM requirements have not been significantly updated in more than 30 years. The requirements are no longer effective in today’s dynamic transportation landscape.
The TDM requirements will be updated to align with the City of Sacramento’s goals on climate and mobility, all in furtherance of the City’s 2040 General Plan goal for 17 percent of all trips in Sacramento to be made by transit, active transportation, and pooled shared modes by 2030 and 23 percent of all trips by 2045.
The project team has completed:
- An analysis of current TDM services in Sacramento
- An analysis of travel patterns in Sacramento
- Engagement with community partners
The project team will be developing a recommendation of a new strategy to encourage and support developments to provide TDM programs, services, and amenities at their sites.
Recommendations will consider:
- Responding to the changing transportation landscape and emerging transportation technologies
- More efficient use of the existing transportation network
- Improving public health
- Advancing equity
- Supporting transit and transit-oriented development
Community benefits of TDM
Transportation system benefits
- Enhanced mobility to destinations
- Reduced traffic congestion
Health and safety benefits
- Improved public health through active transportation
- Improved air quality
Environmental benefits
- Reduced dependence on fossil fuels
- Reduced GHG gas emissions
Economic benefits
- Activated streets as more people walk and roll to their destinations
- Attraction and retention of talent and tenants due to the availability of multi-modal amenities and benefits
Social benefits
- Increased access to affordable travel options
- Improved quality of life due to the increased access and flexibility of transportation choices
How can I participate and give feedback?
Your participation is integral in this process as it helps to understand what types of TDM strategies and programs will be most impactful in the city. Your input will inform decisions on how best to update the TDM requirements.
Sign up here for updates on the Transportation Demand Management ordinance update.
Project documents
The project team will update this site regularly with materials as the project progresses.
Schedule and Next Steps:
Contact us
Chris Dougherty, Transportation Planning Manager
City of Sacramento, Department of Public Works
cdougherty@cityofsacrmento.org
(916) 808-2669
TDM resource library
- Video: Using Behavioral Science to Encourage People to Commute Sustainably
- Video: What is TDM? Shaping a New Era of Transportation Options
- Podcast: Using nudges to get better results when trying to bring about behavior change (skip to 14:04 for commute info)
- Article 1 and Article 2: Research concludes that an active commute may be as important to increase well-being as marriage or a pay raise
- Article: Charging for parking by the day—The not-so-secret trick to cutting solo car commute
- Online TDM encyclopedia