Work Program
Travel Demand Management Follow-Up
December 2, 2021
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) votes to approve this work program.
Boston Region MPO Planning Studies and Technical Analyses
Boston Region MPO
Principal: Jonathan Church
Manager: Sandy Johnston
MPO Combined PL and §5303 Contract #114674
Schedule and budget details are shown in Exhibits 1 and 2, respectively.
The Boston Region MPO elected to fund this study with its federally allocated metropolitan planning funds during federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022. The work completed through this study will address the following goal area(s) established in the MPO’s Long-Range Transportation Plan: Capacity management and mobility, transportation equity, economic vitality.
In recent years, regional stakeholders have expressed interest to MPO staff regarding Travel Demand Management (TDM).1 Specifically, staff have heard that TDM practice in the Boston area is highly fragmented, with each municipality developing and administering different rules; much of the management is delegated to transportation management associations (TMA); and there is very limited involvement from higher levels of government. During FFY 2021, staff sponsored two public forums on TDM through the FFY 2021 UPWP study Regional TDM Strategies Coordination. Both forums, arranged in coordination with Metropolitan Area Planning Council and topic experts, were successful, attracting several hundred attendees. To follow up on this success, the MPO chose to fund a follow-up task in the FFY 2022 UPWP, encompassing both continued engagement and analysis of a potential role for the MPO in TDM. In turn, the findings of this study will inform the MPO’s upcoming Long-Range Transportation Plan. Throughout, work on this task will especially focus on impacts from the pandemic and on implementation of an equity lens in TDM work.
This task will involve researching how other MPOs have engaged with TDM work. Research will include both a literature review and interviews and will focus on MPOs with similar governance structures and metropolitan areas to the Boston MPO.
Beginning with the peer MPOs defined in the CTPS strategic plan, staff will create a list of peer MPOs engaged in TDM practice.
Staff will review the websites, LRTPs, Transportation Improvement Plans, and UPWPs of identified peer MPOs to understand their involvement in TDM-related work. Staff will then document findings in a format that can later be translated into a memo for presentation to the MPO.
Based on the findings of the literature review, staff will conduct targeted interviews or discussions with staff from peer MPOs and potentially other stakeholders about their work.
The products of Task 1 will include staff familiarization with the state of MPO TDM work, documentation of findings, and potentially the building of a network of peer professionals for consultation and networking.
Throughout the period of this study, MPO staff will consult with regional stakeholders about regional TDM needs and what role the MPO could potentially play. Discussions that are part of this task will be informed by lessons from FFY 2021 TDM work as well as items learned in Task 1.
During FFY 2021, MPO staff built meaningful relationships with several municipal planners engaged in TDM work within the MPO region. During FFY 2022, we will seek to deepen those relationships, as well as engage other municipal planners, especially those in more suburban municipalities who may have more limited resources. Possible avenues of engagement include personal interviews; small focus groups; and a survey of all regional municipalities that would gauge interest in TDM and its various components. This engagement will allow staff to identify regional TDM needs that the MPO may be able to help address.
Much TDM work in the Boston region is executed through TMAs. TMAs generally represent private employers, although in some circumstances they may also include municipalities. Because of their specific focus, TMAs can provide rich information, but they often do not engage with regional-level planning or coordination. Staff will meet one-on-one and in small groups with TMA staff and board members to determine their needs and level of interest in engaging with potential regional-level TDM work.
In addition to the personal-level engagement in the previous two subtasks, staff will offer at least one open house-type event that will be open to the public and offer an opportunity to give input on potential regional TDM opportunities.
Products of Task 2 will include deepened regional relationships on TDM; documentation of needs; and an understanding of regional stakeholders’ ideas for the MPO’s role in TDM.
Toward the end of the FFY, staff will document findings from Tasks 1 and 2 and report to the MPO with recommendations and/or options for MPO engagement with TDM work.
Staff will write a short memorandum summarizing results from Tasks 1 and 2 and any resulting recommendations for the MPO. The memorandum may include accompanying materials documenting more findings.
Staff will report findings at an MPO meeting and engage the MPO in a conversation about next steps, including whether and how the MPO should engage with TDM work.
A memorandum, presentation, and potentially consensus guidance from the MPO on a course of action for future FFYs.
|
Task |
Month | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
|
1.
Research MPO Involvement in TDM
|
From Month 1, Week 1 to Month 7, Week 4.
|
|||||||||
|
2.
Consult with Regional Stakeholders
|
From Month 1, Week 1 to Month 9, Week 4.
|
|||||||||
|
3.
Report to the MPO
|
From Month 9, Week 1 to Month 10, Week 4.
Deliverable
A
Delivered by Month 10, Week 4.
|
|||||||||
|
Task |
Person-Weeks |
Direct
Salary |
Overhead
(109.09%) |
Total
Cost |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-4 | P-3 | P-2 | Total | ||||
|
1.
Research MPO Involvement in TDM
|
0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 1.6 | $1,946 | $2,123 | $4,069 |
|
2.
Consult with Regional Stakeholders
|
0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.6 | $670 | $731 | $1,402 |
|
3.
Report to the MPO
|
0.1 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 1.7 | $2,166 | $2,363 | $4,529 |
|
Total
|
0.1 | 0.2 | 3.5 | 0.1 | 3.9 | $4,783 | $5,217 | $10,000 |
1 MAPC’s 2015 report “Transportation Demand Management Case Studies and Regulations” (http://www.mapc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/TDM-FINAL-REPORT-7_15_0.pdf)) defines TDM as “a package of policies and programs that are designed to reduce drive-alone trips and enable the transportation system to function more effectively and efficiently through measures that shift passengers from single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) travel. Specifically, TDM encourages using alternative travel modes (bicycling, walking, and transit); promoting alternatives to SOV travel (teleworking, ridesharing including carpooling and vanpooling); increasing the number of passengers in vehicles (carpooling and vanpooling); and eliminating the need for some trips altogether (compressed work week).”
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal nondiscrimination laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected populations in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation and administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful access to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited English proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation policy and guidance on federal Executive Order 13166.
The Boston Region MPO also complies with the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a, which prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in admission to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities, and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era veterans), or background.
A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To request this information in a different language or in an accessible format, please contact
Title VI Specialist
Boston Region MPO
10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150
Boston, MA 02116
civilrights@ctps.org
By Telephone:
857.702.3702 (voice)
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