Over the last several decades, researchers and practitioners have gradually become aware of one fact: in order to achieve an efficient transportation system, proper demand management strategies are probably more critical than increasing facility capacity (i.e. providing more supply). Especially with the financial constraints in recent years, adding new infrastructure gets even more difficult, if not infeasible at all. Over years, various travel demand management strategies have been developed and implemented across the world. Some strategies focus on the optimization of transportation modes, such as the promotion of bike and bus usage. Some strategies focus on the modification of travel demand distribution in space and time, such as mixed land use development and flexible working hours. Previous studies suggest that most of the strategies have substantial impacts on traffic pattern and travel behaviors, but the effects may not be exactly the same as they were initially expected to be. In order to efficiently manage transportation demand, it is critical to thoroughly understand the influence of travel demand management strategies on the involved users. This proposal project will focus on the data collection and analysis that enables such understanding.

The proposed project has three main focus areas. The first one, Descriptive Analyses, focuses on the analyses of the aggregate changes taking place as a consequence of the demand management strategy (e.g., changes in traffic composition and hourly distribution, changes in the socio-economic profile of the users). The second focus area, Behavioral Analyses, is intended to structure an analytical framework to monitor long-term behavioral changes of the users resulting from the implementation of the strategy. The objective of the third focus area, System Wide Impacts, is to gain insights into the broader impacts of the travel demand strategy. This will provide an objective assessment of the experience gained that will undoubtedly benefit future implementations.

A newly implemented travel demand management strategy in this region, such as the bike initiative in Buffalo will be identified first as the case study.

The proposed project will then strive to answer the following questions:

• Has the strategy had any effect upon driver behavior? If, so what is the nature of this change for passenger transportation and for freight transportation?
• What behavioral changes take place over the long term?
• Has the strategy had any effect upon system performance? If, so in what way?