Managing Demand

“Space on the highway will be at a premium. Managing
demand and the allocation of road space will be essential
for efficient and reliable operation of the network.”

Space on the highway will be at a premium. Managing demand will be essential for efficient and reliable operation of the network.

Strenuous efforts will be needed to promote travel substitution and other options to reduce the demand for transportation through telecommuting, electronic communications, and alternative work schedules.

Propganda to suppress travel may be inevitable. ("Is your journey really necessary?"). Rationing of mobility between people and goods, and between competing calls for access to the network will require instruments to achieve mobility changes without social exclusion.

Introduction of slot allocation and journey booking systems, extensive queue management and rationing of roadspace through dynamic use of priority lanes, as well as mode switching and the use of road pricing (congetion charges) will all be deployed to prevent widespread gridlock.

Enforcement will be an essential tool of network management. Methods of enforcement will be effective, easy on the network operator, respectful of human rights and perceived as fair and reasonable. Privacy, fairness, will be key issues.
  

• Travel demand varies dynamically, both geographically and over time. Measures will be needed to keep transport demand and supply in balance, in response to both temporary fluctuations or more permanent shortfalls in road space.
  
  
• A culture of ‘freedom’ for drivers to travel when and where they wish will lead to huge fluctuations in demand. This is especially likely at holiday times, for leisure purposes and when the weather is good.
  
  
• Delays on the network severely affect the transport of both people and goods with knock-on effects for the national and local economies, not necessarily where the delays occur.
  
  
• Long distance trips currently comprise around 35% of the total distance travelled annually, with business trips (mainly car and plane) accounting for 12% (around 15 billion passenger kilometres) of the total distance travelled.
  
  
• Road user charging for travel in congested areas, or at congested times, is gaining public acceptance although other methods (e.g. “gating” and dynamic rationing of road space) are less familiar.
  
  
• More than 66% of European organisations with over 500 employees already practice tele-work in one form or another through distance working, tele / video conferencing, distance training, e-commerce, e-banking, tele-banking, etc.

• Operate the highway network to balance transport supply with transport demand whilst maintaining acceptable performance standards.
  
  
• Develop network operating strategies to effect a dynamic allocation of road space serving optional and non-essential movements, as well as high-value journeys and priority movements of freight.
  
  
• Encourage travel substitution and modal shift to Public Transport.
  

• Develop methods of congestion charging through trial schemes. Link these with measures to divert peak travel, to off-peak, travel substitution, and mode switching.
  
  
• Promote greater use of priority lanes and the enforcement methods to go with them.
  
  
• Develop the technology for selective ramp metering, queue management and dynamic allocation of road space.
  
  
• Work with DTLR to develop impact forecasting and assessment methods for telecommuting and other forms of travel substitution (e.g. on work patterns, leisure patterns, living and working communities - de-urbanisation, changing goods / service needs, etc).
  
  
• Evaluate tele-working and eTransport strategies for their ability to ease traffic congestion, with fuel savings, improved environmental impacts and peak spreading, as people change their lifestyles and working patterns / times.
  
  
• Encourage vehicle sharing and park and ride schemes - meeting points at service stations.