managing travel for planned special events - FHWA Operations ...

and non-attendee travel through incentivesaimed at consolidating person trips andaltering user travel patterns and habits, whileminimizing any penalties to the user.Transit service for a particular planned specialevent includes: (1) public transit serviceexpansion or modification, (2) express busesfrom area neighborhoods or park and ridelots, and (3) charter bus service from othercities and counties. These services, thoughconfigured to net operators a profit, representa travel demand management initiative.The goal of transit operators involve designinga special event service and related incentivesto not only improve the travel choiceutility associated with using transit, but alsoto exceed the utility (e.g., travel time, parkingfees, comfort, etc.) associated with travelingvia personal automobile. Successfultransit services collectively may result in asignificant change in event patron modalsplit without impacting service to nonattendeeusers.The availability of pre-trip travel information,consisting of essential event operationsand real-time traffic information, proves effectivein assisting event patron evaluationof potential travel options, trip departuretimes, and travel routes to the event venue.Similarly, other road users, seeking tominimize event-related impacts to their trip,value this information.TDM, transit, and pre-trip traveler informationinitiatives complement one another andwork to reduce traffic on the roadway networkin the vicinity of the event. These initiativesare not infrastructure improvementsto increase capacity, but rather are methodsthat decrease vehicular traffic by providingevent patrons with various travel choices aswell as providing information that may leadto a reduction in traffic volumes. Some ofthese strategies are implemented by: (1) thepublic agency involved with the specialevent, (2) the event planners themselves, and(3) a combination of both groups.TRAVEL DEMANDMANAGEMENTOverviewTDM strategies are used to maximize theefficiency of the transportation system, thusreducing the volume of traffic on the roadwayand minimizing the peak demand ratesthat cause congestion. They do not representinfrastructure improvements to increasecapacity, but rather are methods that causetraffic demand reduction by encouragingother travel mode choices, particularly forevent patrons. As shown in Table 7-1, TDMtechniques for planned special events involvetwo distinct groups.USERGROUPEvent patrons • Traveling to theevent itselfNon-attendeeroad usersTable 7-1Travel Demand Management GoalsTRIP PURPOSETDM GOAL• Traveling for reasonsother thanthe event itself• Encourage the use of travel modes other than personal automobile.• Encourage a shift in arrival and departure times to reduce peaktraffic volumes.• Increase vehicle occupancy.• Divert non-attendee travelers around the impacted area.• Alter non-attendee time of travel to avoid conflict with eventpeak ingress and egress times.7-2