Transportation demand management
A demand management approach to transport also has the potential to deliver better environmental outcomes, improved public health, stronger communities, and more prosperous cities.
When long lines appeared at gas stations, it became self-evident that alternatives to single-occupancy commuter travel needed to be provided in order to save energy, improve air quality, and reduce peak period congestion.
[5] The concepts of TDM borrowed from mainstream transport planning in Europe, which had never been based on assumptions that the private car was the best or only solution for urban mobility.
[6] Some cities outside Europe have also consistently taken a demand management approach to transport and land use planning, notably Curitiba, Brazil; Portland, Oregon, US; Arlington, Virginia, US;[7] and Vancouver, Canada.
Small-scale projects to provide alternatives to single occupant commuter travel were common, but generally were led from outside the mainstream of transport planning.
In the introduction to the White Paper, Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that We recognise that we cannot simply build our way out of the problems we face.
A companion document to the White Paper called "Smarter Choices" researched the potential to scale up the small and scattered sustainable transport initiatives then occurring across Britain, and concluded that the comprehensive application of these techniques could reduce peak period car travel in urban areas by over 20%.
This “silo” thinking inhibits the kind of policy integration that is needed to develop a sustainable urban transport solution strategy.
TDM has the potential to move the transport sector from a position of weak to strong sustainability by combining behavior-change with technology improvements.
Vehicle travel in the United States, which has been rising steadily since records began, started to level out before the fuel price increases and is now in decline.
A growing sustainable transport movement is mobilising public demand for investment in safer, more livable cities with a greater range of travel choices.
