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What is Transportation Demand Management? Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is a set of strategies designed to deal with traffic congestion, transportation, air quality and health challenges. Through public and private sector partnership, TDM strategies focus on maximizing use of existing transportation infrastructure by: providing travel options to commuters; Site assessments and surveys to understand employee commute behaviour Shuttle programs Emergency Ride Home Programs

Did You Know? If every commuter left their car at home for just one day a week, we could have summertime traffic levels every day of the year.

	Why do we want to manage our transportation? Population in Peel Region will grow from about 1 Million to over 1.5 Million in the next 30 years. Employment in Peel Region will increase from 542,000 to over 820,000 in the next 30 years. With Peel’s continuing growth, it is estimated that morning peak hour trips will be increased by 53 per cent by 2031. We cannot build our way out of congestion. It’s too costly to widen and build all the roads that will be required to accommodate the future traffic, and that means: more congestion; longer commutes; poor air quality. Traffic congestion in the GTA already costs Ontario businesses upwards of $2 billion a year in lost time and productivity. Therefore, we have to develop TDM as one of many ways to tackle our future transportation problem.
Did You Know? One city bus can take 40 vehicles off the road, save 70,000 litres of fuel and keep 168 tonnes of pollutants out of the atmosphere each year. Source: Environment Canada

What is Peel Region’s TDM initiative?

TDM policies in the Peel Region Official Plan

Recognizing that we cannot build our way out of congestion, the Region has amended the Peel Region Official Plan through ROPA 16 to include TDM policies that manages travel demand and reduces the level of congestion on our road network.

Smart Commute

Smart Commute is a partnership between the cities and regions of the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, with financial support from Transport Canada. This initiative aims to reduce traffic congestion and to take action on climate change through transportation efficiency.

Smart Commute helps local employers and commuters to explore different commuting choices like carpooling, tele-working, transit, cycling, walking or flexible work hours. It is our goal to help make commuting easier, healthier and more enjoyable.

Smart Commute offers a wide array of services to make commuting easier in the GTA and Hamilton.

	Carpooling and vanpooling: exclusive ride-matching programs for employers
	Site assessments and surveys to understand employee commute behaviour
	Shuttle programs
	Emergency Ride Home Programs
	Employee Work Arrangement Solutions: tele-work, compressed work weeks and flex hours, workshops, lunch & learns and seminars
	Incentives and promotions
	Commuter Challenge and other fun events

To offer and deliver these services, Smart Commute is creating a network of transportation management associations (TMAs) across the GTA and Hamilton.

In Peel Region, Smart Commute Mississauga and Smart Commute Brampton-Caledon have been launched.

For more information about Smart Commute, visit: smartcommute.ca

News updates from Metrolinx.

Smart Commute initiatives at the Region

As one of the largest employers in Peel Region, the Region launched an Employee Trip Reduction Program (ETRP) to encourage and support employees in the use of alternatives to driving alone. In November 2005, the Region joined Carpool Zone to help employees facilitate carpooling. In November 2006, the Region introduced preferential parking for carpool vehicles and emergency ride home service for employees who use sustainable modes of transportation.

Safe and Active Routes to School initiative

The Peel Safe and Active Routes to School (PSARTS) is a community steering committee, run jointly by Region of Peel Planning and Health departments.

It brings together a number of organizations and works to improve the health of children by educating and encouraging the use of active modes of transportation to and from school, in turn leading to reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality.

PSARTS aims to increase the benefits of the PSARTS committee project to Peel communities. Health brings its interest of encouraging health and safety improvement of children, while Planning works to reduce traffic congestion levels on roads, especially in crowded school zones.

The successes of PSARTS have had a significant impact in the Region’s communities towards promoting safe and active routes to school, benefiting not only the health of children and the environment, but also the overall quality of life in the Region of Peel.

The Region of Peel is happy to share its experience in developing and implementing TDM strategies in the workplace. For more information, contact:

Keri Baxter
Active Transportation Coordinator
Region of Peel
10 Peel Centre Dr., 6th Fl. Suite A
Brampton, ON L6T 4B9
Telephone: 905-791-7800 ext. 4420

Revised: Friday July 02 2010

www.peelregion.ca