TDM Strategy | Technology/Ramp Management

Overview

Zone-based congestion pricing charges vehicles that enter or travel within a defined congestion relief zone. Beyond reducing congestion, pricing can improve travel times and reliability; encourage travelers to use less expensive means of travel like transit, carpooling, walking, or biking; travel at less congested times; combine trips; or avoid unnecessary vehicle trips.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

Depending on the program design, a vehicle may be charged when it crosses the zone boundary, each time it passes a charging point, once per day, or for trips made within the zone. Pricing programs are strongest when the pricing zone and operating hours are easy to understand and the reinvestment priorities are clearly defined. Pricing can create equity concerns that can be addressed with discounts, exemptions, and credits.

Project Examples

• New York City Congestion Relief Zone

  • In 2025, New York City established the first urban congestion pricing zone in the country, intended to reduce traffic in the central business district of Manhattan and provide funding for major transit investments. Vehicles entering Manhattan at or below 60th Street are charged for doing so; since implementation, traffic is down and air quality, pedestrian traffic, and quality-of-life indicators have all improved in the Congestion Relief Zone.

• Stockholm Congestion Tax

  • The Swedish capital charges vehicles that enter or leave the city center during rush hour on weekdays with the goal of reducing congestion and improving accessibility. By doing so, they demonstrate how time-variable pricing can reduce driving during the busiest times and encourage travelers to shift trips to other times, routes, or modes.

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Key Resources

• MTA- Congestion Relief Zone: Current operating information, toll structure, discounts, exemptions, maps, and performance data for New York City's zone-based congestion pricing program
• San Francisco County Transportation Authority– Downtown Congestion Pricing Study: A summary of congestion pricing programs and their impacts
• Eno Center for Transportation– Congestion Pricing in the United States: Principles for developing a viable congestion pricing program

Measuring Success

To evaluate whether pricing strategies reduce or shift vehicle travel, communities can:

• Compare vehicle entries into the priced area
• Examine traffic volumes, VMT, or travel patterns by time of day before and after implementation
• Track travel-time reliability, transit ridership, vehicle occupancy, and person throughput before and after implementation

Road Usage Charge Overview (RUC)

Pay-by-mile programs like RUC charge drivers based on the number of miles a vehicle travels rather than the amount of fuel it consumes. While primarily a transportation funding strategy, RUC programs can be a valuable TDM tool; by making the cost of additional driving more visible, RUC programs can potentially encourage some travelers to reduce vehicle travel. RUC TDM potential increases when agencies structure rates to reflect factors such as time of day, location, congestion levels, and vehicle weight.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

Public acceptance is an important implementation consideration, particularly because some RUC approaches require information about vehicle mileage or travel location. Agencies implementing or supporting RUC programs should clearly communicate data practices and consider approaches that minimize the collection of personally identifiable information, while still allowing accurate mileage reporting.

Project Examples

• OReGO Road Usage Charge Program

  • Oregon implemented a voluntary RUC program in 2015 and plans to transition to a mandatory system for certain vehicles in 2027. Participants currently pay two cents per mile-driven; this program shows how a mileage-based charge can replace fuel taxes with a fee tied more directly to how much a vehicle is driven.

• Utah Road Usage Charge Program

  • Utah implemented a voluntary RUC program in 2020, allowing forms of electric vehicles to pay by mile instead of paying the flat alternative fuel vehicle fee, up to a capped point. The capped charges make enrolling in this program more appealing for transportation funding, but limits the program’s effectiveness as a TDM strategy by constraining its effect on travel behavior.

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Key Resources

• RUC America- A Summary of Road Usage Charge Exploration: An overview of RUC America member states and program implementation progress
• University of California Institute of Transportation Studies- Road Usage Charges and Impacts on Rural and Disadvantaged Communities: Report that examines the differences in what drivers would pay with a gasoline tax versus a revenue-neutral RUC and whether these differences are equitably distributed
• Washington Road Usage Charge- Research Library: Detailed pilot reports and technical materials on equity, privacy, cost of collection, public outreach, technology, and transition planning

Measuring Success

To evaluate RUC programs’ effectiveness, agencies can:

• Track eligible vehicles, enrollment and renewal rates, participant retention, and reasons drivers join or leave the program, simultaneously with:
• Total and average miles reported, revenue generated, and changes in annual or peak-period driving to understand how the program affects transportation funding or travel behavior

HOV Lanes Overview

By reserving lanes just for vehicles with at least two or three occupants, governments can move more people through congested corridors by encouraging carpooling and providing carpools with faster, more reliable travel. Their TDM benefit depends on maintaining a meaningful and reliable advantage for carpools, vanpools, and buses using these lanes.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

Newly constructed lanes may induce demand and increase overall driving unless its design and operations encourage enough new carpool, vanpool, and transit trips to offset induced demand.

Project Examples

• US 36 HOV 3+ Priority in Express Lanes- Denver to Boulder, Colorado

  • On US 36, HOV 3+ vehicles can use the express lanes toll-free, while other users must pay a toll for access. Because buses also use the express lanes, this infrastructure provides a meaningful travel-time incentive to carpool or take transit rather than driving in general traffic lanes or paying the express lane toll.

• I-66 Inside the Beltway HOV-3+ Priority- Northern Virginia

  • In the peak direction during rush hour, 3-occupancy vehicles that meet the program’s eligibility and transponder requirements use the HOV lanes toll-free. Lower-occupancy vehicles are subject to a large toll for access, regularly approaching $40. Qualifying carpools and buses receive toll-free access and a reliable peak-period trip, while toll revenue supports transit and other corridor improvements.

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Key Resources

• Texas A&M Transportation Institute- Managed HOV/HOT Lanes: A clear practitioner overview of HOV, HOT, and other managed-lane approaches, including objectives, operating rules, benefits, and tradeoffs
• National Operations Center of Excellence- Guidelines for Implementing Managed Lanes: Implementation guidance covering objectives, decision-making, design, operations, maintenance, and safety considerations
• Virginia Transportation Research Council- Exploration of Corridor-Based Tolling Strategies: A study that looks at the overall regional transportation impacts of HOV/HOT lane implementation.

Measuring Success

Agencies can measure carpool and vanpool participation, transit ridership, park-and-ride use, and changes in drive-alone mode share before and after implementation to evaluate whether the HOV infrastructure is encouraging travelers to shift away from single-occupancy vehicles. Communities can evaluate the broader transportation and environmental impacts by measuring changes in average vehicle occupancy, person throughput, vehicle miles traveled, and greenhouse gas emissions along the corridor.