TDM Strategy | Integrated Strategies

Partners: TMOs typically bring together local governments, employers, property owners, developers, transit agencies, chambers of commerce, business improvement districts, educational institutions, and nonprofits.

Common Responsibilities: Employer and property outreach, commute surveys, commuter benefit program design, rideshare matching, vanpool and carpool support, transit pass promotion, guaranteed ride home programs, bicycle and pedestrian encouragement initiatives, e-bike incentive programs, telework support, TDM plan implementation, shuttle coordination, construction mitigation, grant writing, and program performance monitoring.

Roaring Fork-Colorado River Regional Pilot TMO- Regional

• This pilot TMO was awarded CDOT’s TMO Seed Funding Grant, a program created to establish TMOs in underrepresented areas of the state and to add new perspectives to Colorado’s TDM work. It offers a valuable model for rural and intermountain communities where transit challenges require coordinated regional solutions.

Go NoCo 34 / U.S. 34 Transportation Management Organization- Regional

• Weld County’s Board of County Commissioner contributed funding to support the formation of the first TMO in Northern Colorado. The organization was established to improve mobility along the U.S. 34 corridor, demonstrating how a TMO can be structured around a rapidly growing transportation corridor rather than a traditional downtown district.

West Corridor TMA- Urban

• The West Corridor TMA serves communities along the West Corridor to expand multimodal transportation options and reduce reliance on SOV travel. The organization provides various TDM services and partners with employers and schools to implement employer commute programs, rideshare promotion, targeted outreach campaigns, and support for regional initiatives such as Go-Tober and Bike to Work Day.

TMO program implementation and participation: Common measures include the number of community organizations participating in TMO programs, the number of transportation plans and outreach events completed, and participation in commuter benefit programs, rideshare matching, and other TDM services.

Travel behavior and transportation outcomes: Communities can monitor changes in commute mode share, drive-alone rates, transit ridership, vanpool participation, and VMT. Agencies can use employer surveys, transit ridership data and regional travel surveys to establish baseline conditions and monitor progress over time.

Types of benefits: Benefits include employer-paid transit passes, EcoPass programs, pre-tax transit and vanpool benefits, vanpool subsidies, carpool incentives, bicycle benefits, secure bike parking, showers and lockers, telework and flexible work schedules, parking cash-out, reduced parking, commute planning assistance, and guaranteed ride home programs.

Paid Parking: Commute benefits are particularly effective when paired with paid or managed parking, as the combination provides both an incentive to use non-SOV modes and a clearer cost signal associated with driving and parking.

RTD EcoPass Employer Program- Regional

• RTD’s annual prepaid transit pass purchased by an employer offers eligible employees unlimited use of RTD services. EcoPass significantly reduces the financial barrier to using transit, making transit a more convenient and attractive option for commuting. This pass can encourage employees to shift away from driving alone, reduce parking demand, and lower household transportation costs.

Auraria Campus RTD Employee EcoPass- Urban

• Through 2026, eligible faculty and staff at the Auraria Higher Education Center, Community College of Denver, MSU Denver and CU Denver receive access to an RTD EcoPass. Auraria is a major urban employment and education center with constrained parking and strong transit access, showing how institutions can use employee transit benefits to manage access and reduce parking pressure.

Employee participation and program use: Common measures include the number and percentage of employees enrolled in transit pass, EcoPass, vanpool, bicycle, telework, or guaranteed ride home programs. Employees may track employee satisfaction, and changes in parking occupancy.

Travel behavior and transportation outcomes: Communities and employers can monitor changes in commute mode share, drive-alone rates, transit ridership, carpool participation, bicycle and pedestrian commuting, telework participation, VMT, and parking demand. Agencies can use before-and-after employee commute surveys and parking use data to evaluate program effectiveness.

Funding Sources: TDM districts can generate revenue from property assessments, mill levies, development fees, parking revenues, employer or property-owner contributions, membership fees, or other locally authorized revenue sources.

Organizational Structure: Where a Business Improvement District (BID), General Improvement District (GID), metropolitan district, or similar organization already exists, a community may be able to use or expand that existing organizational structure rather than creating a separate TDM entity.

New Developments: For new developments or master-planned communities, agencies can consider TDM funding early. Developers may provide initial funding, while longer-term costs can transition to assessments or other recurring sources.

Boulder Junction Transportation Demand Management Access District- Urban

• Property owners petitioned the City Council to create two overlaying general improvement districts for parking and TDM programs. The Boulder Junction Access GID - Travel Demand Management Fund accounts for dedicated property tax and PILOT revenue to fund transit bus passes, bike and carshare programs, and infrastructure for properties within the district. Boulder’s 2024 budget memo reported a $363,908 TDM fund budget.

Denver Transportation Demand Management Requirements for New Development- Urban

• Denver requires many new developments to create and monitor a TDM plan. Denver’s TDM Plan states that integrating TDM strategies into new developments through mandates can reduce vehicle trip generation and other negative community impacts. Denver’s model shows how local development requirements can create ongoing TDM obligations and fund site-level transportation options.

Types of Flexible Work: Remote work, hybrid schedules, compressed work weeks, staggered start and end times, flexible arrival windows, core hours, part-time telework, and shift adjustments

Effectiveness: This strategy is effective for employers, public agencies, universities, hospitals, TMOs, and other large institutions where some job functions can be performed remotely or where work schedules can be adjusted.

• This program provides telework resources to help businesses explore teleworking arrangements. This is especially useful for small and mid-sized employers that may not have dedicated HR or transportation staff, but want to formalize remote-work practices.

Program implementation and participation: Common measures include the number and percentage of employees participating in telework or flexible work hours, and employee satisfaction with program policies.

Travel behavior and transportation outcomes: Communities and employers can monitor changes in commute mode share, drive-alone rates, peak-period vehicle trips, VMT, parking demand and use, average commute distance, and GHG emissions. Agencies can use before-and-after employee commute surveys, telework participation records, parking occupancy and badge access records to evaluate program effectiveness over time.

Types of Events: Concerts, sporting events, festivals, fairs, parades, conferences, university events, resort and ski season activities, races, farmers markets, construction-related traffic disruptions, and civic celebrations

Common Strategies: Enhanced transit service and promotion, remote parking with shuttle service, bundled transit passes, bicycle valet or secure bike parking, pedestrian wayfinding, carpool incentives, parking reservations and pricing, real-time traveler information, coordinated arrival and departure times, vendor and freight scheduling, neighborhood parking management, and multimodal trip planning tools.

Jefferson County Parks and Open Space Westracks- Suburban

• Westracks is a regional shuttle program to improve access to popular outdoor destinations in the foothills west of Denver. The program connects RTD’s W Line in Golden to key destinations between Golden and Morrison.

Snowstang- Rural/Resort

• CDOT’s Snowstang provides seasonal weekend and holiday express bus service from Denver to Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Loveland Ski Area. The service is designed to reduce peak-period traffic on mountain corridors, and to provide an affordable alternative to driving to ski and resort destinations.

Maroon Bells Shuttle- Rural/Resort

• This seasonal shuttle is designed to reduce traffic congestion and parking demand at one of Colorado’s most heavily visited recreation destinations in the Aspen Area.

Program implementation and operations: Common measures include the number and type of TDM strategies implemented, number of partner agencies involved, parking capacity managed, and public outreach activities

Travel behavior and transportation outcomes: Agencies can monitor changes in attendee mode share, drive-alone rates, transit ridership, parking occupancy, traffic volumes, travel times, VMT and GHG emissions. Agencies can use before-and-after attendee surveys, traffic counts, and parking occupancy data to evaluate program effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.

Marketing Campaign Programs: Marketing campaigns can promote transit, carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling, walking, telework, employer commute benefits, parking management, event transportation, and other mobility programs.

Types of Incentives: Free or discounted transit passes, vanpool subsidies, gift cards, local business discounts, parking cash-out, prize drawings, bicycle gear, commuter challenges, and employer recognition programs. Mobility wallets or universal basic mobility programs provide participants with funds that can be used across multiple transportation options.

Effectiveness: The most successful campaigns focus on a specific audience, geographic area, and desired behavior, while providing a clear call to action. Marketing and incentive campaigns are most effective when paired with other TDM initiatives.

DRCOG Way to Go/Colorado Clean Commute- Urban

• Way to Go helps employers at no cost identify commute options for employees with the goal of improving morale and reducing traffic congestion. Colorado Clean Commute helps employers expand sustainable commuting options and support employee well-being, recruitment, and cleaner air.

Colorado Association of Transit Agencies (CASTA) Zero Fare Transit Grants Program- Urban/Suburban/Rural

• From 2022-2025, CASTA administered this grant program for transit agencies outside RTD to support fare-free transit, expand service frequency, and demand-response options. Across participating agencies, monthly ridership increased by an average of 30.28 percent.

Denver Shift2 Citywide- Urban

• This program encourages people who live or work in Denver to increase commuting by foot, bike, transit, or carpool. Participants who shift two or more round-trip commutes per week receive monthly discounts to explore new businesses, and are entered into monthly prize drawings.

Campaign implementation and participation: Common measures include campaign impressions, employer participation, event attendance, trip logging participation, challenge participation, and enrollment in commuter benefit programs.

Travel behavior and transportation outcomes: Agencies can monitor changes in commute mode share, drive-alone rates, transit ridership, VMT, GHG emissions, parking demand and commuter satisfaction. Agencies can use before-and-after surveys, trip logging platforms, employer surveys, and transit ridership data to evaluate both short-term participation and long-term behavior change.