FHWA Office of Operations News

Highlights From the Third Performance Management Regulation (PM3) Peer Exchange Series for State Departments of Transportation (DOTs)

This fact sheet reports on highlights from the Peer Exchange for State Departments of Transportation on the third performance management rulemaking, or PM3, held in 2021. The report includes highlights of the topics discussed as well as a list of potential research and technical assistance topics.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Planning For TSMO Practitioner Reference

This Reference document enables transportation planners, operators, and others to plan for Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) by identifying operations objectives, performance measures, strategies, implementation, and management considerations. It also features excerpts from an example transportation plan includes brief discussions of important topics in planning for TSMO such as project prioritization and sustaining TSMO over the long term.

FHWA Office of Operations News

2022 Urban Congestion Trends Report

The 2022 Urban Congestion Trends report is now available. It includes congestion and reliability measure trends in the 52 largest urban areas in the United States, along information on data tools and an operational strategy evaluation.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Safety in Work Zones Targeted Action Plan

This report is centered on specific voluntary actions that can be taken by transportation agencies and other stakeholders to address CMV safety in work zones.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives Phase I Evaluation: Enhancing the Road Charge Program in California

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 established the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives (STSFA) Program to provide grants to States or groups of States to demonstrate user-based alternative revenue mechanisms that utilize a user-fee structure to maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. In Federal fiscal year 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded eight STSFA grants to seven lead States (California, Delaware, Hawaii, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon [project lead for two grants], and Washington) totaling $14,235,000. This report reflects California's findings.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Travel Time Reliability Reference Guide

This guide describes key elements for including travel time reliability evaluation within traffic analysis approaches. It includes information on observing the system; defining the problem; collecting and preparing data for analysis; creating the model; verifying, calibrating, and validating; and data processing, analysis, and presentation, as well as some examples. The guide is part of an effort by FHWA to update the FHWA Traffic Analysis Toolbox to reflect and incorporate travel time reliability concepts.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Application of Travel Time Data and Statistics to Travel Time Reliability Analyses Report and Fact Sheet

The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) funded project, "Application of Travel Time Data and Statistics to Travel Time Reliability Analyses," has been completed and a report and fact sheet detailing the results are now available. The intent of the report is twofold: to provide practitioners with the ability to understand the differences in reliability measures derived from the different data sources and to document the steps needed to turn high-resolution travel time data into reliability performance measures. The report covers several topics including: data sources for reliability; data processing methods for reliability; and creating and comparing reliability measures, highlighting differences and similarities in the use of data from different sources. A case study was conducted that compared reliability measures developed from different data sources using different processing methods. A four-page fact sheet was also developed.

FHWA Office of Operations News

2021 Urban Congestion Trends Report

The 2021 Urban Congestion Trends report is now available. It includes congestion and reliability measure trends in the 52 largest urban areas in the United States, along information on data tools and an operational strategy evaluation.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Approaches to Forecasting the Third Performance Management Rulemaking (PM3) Measures for Target Setting

Description: This new report provides example approaches to forecasting for setting targets for the third performance management rulemaking, or PM3, travel time-based measures. The approaches include extrapolation of past trends, identifying "at risk" highway segments, and model-based forecasting options.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Providing In-Cab, Traffic-Related Warning Messages To Commercial Motor Vehicles

This fact sheet provides information on NCDOT’s program to share real time traffic-related warning messages.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Four New Evaluation Reports Added to the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives Program

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-94, § 6020, authorized the Secretary of Transportation to establish the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives (STSFA) Program. The purpose of the STSFA Program is to provide grants to States to demonstrate user–based alternative revenue mechanisms that utilize a user fee structure to maintain the long–term solvency of the Federal Highway Trust Fund. Lessons learned from four additional pilot programs have been added under the resources section.

FHWA Office of Operations News

New Training: Planning for Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO)

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) National Highway Institute (NHI) has created a training series on Planning for TSMO. The Planning for TSMO - Introduction (NHI-133131) and Planning for TSMO - Concepts and Applications (NHI-133132) courses are Web-based Training (WBTs) that introduce TSMO and provide in-depth explanations about how to incorporate TSMO strategies into the transportation planning process.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Approaches for Communicating Third Performance Management Rule (PM3) Measures, Metrics, and Targets

The Approaches for Communicating Third Performance Management Rule (PM3) Measures, Metrics, and Targets report highlights communication approaches that agencies can use when discussing or presenting the PM3 measures, metrics and targets to various audiences.

FHWA Office of Operations News

TSMO: Getting More from Our Existing System Infographic

The infographic provides examples of the benefits of a variety of operational improvements in an easy to read and understand format. The infographic is available as a .pdf and as PowerPoint slides.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Mainstreaming TSMO Products

This set of 12 products, including brochures, case studies, white papers, and an infographic, aims to help State Departments of Transportation and other agencies mainstream transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) in their organizations.

FHWA Office of Operations News

New Webpage: Coordinating Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) with Safety

This page consolidates the growing body of FHWA and external resources highlighting the opportunities to enhance the collaboration and coordination and TSMO and safety programs, plans, data, and strategies. Case Studies, brochures, technical reports, webinar recordings, and presentations are among the resources currently available. Ongoing FHWA projects will produce additional resources and those will be housed on this page as well when completed.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Case Studies on the Implementation of SHRP2 Reliability Data & Analysis Tools

This set of 18 case studies highlights findings from State Departments of Transportation that implemented reliability data and analysis tools developed under the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2).

FHWA Office of Operations News

Identification of National Work Zone Safety Objectives and Activities: Summary Report

This summary report documents the results of an effort to develop a list of needs, objectives, and activities for enhancing safety in and around work zones nationally. The report aims to assist potential stakeholders in prioritizing work zone safety activities and implementing targeted work zone safety strategies. The report presents 11 specific strategic objectives to enhance work zone safety nationally.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Providing a 5-Minute Pickup Priority for Ridehail Users Agreeing to Pool: Potential Impacts on Curtailing Bus Delay and Enhancing Equity

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential to significantly enhance equity and reduce congestion experienced by city bus riders due to transportation network company (TNC) operations (most especially within corridors with significant bus service) through select TNC or government policy measures. The study analyzes data from a survey conducted by a large TNC, coupled with appended demographic and trip data, to ascertain the impacts of changing private party and shared party TNC pricing and trip times to encourage TNC customers to choose a shared instead of a ride-alone trip. The research looks at the impacts of both total trip + wait time and price on customer decisions to choose a pooling option or to instead insist on a private trip. Compressing the difference in duration between shared and drive-alone trips (including wait time for initial pick up) by 5 minutes is shown to roughly double the proportion of TNC trips that customers choose to share to about 50% of all such trips.

FHWA Office of Operations News

Parking Cruising Analysis Methodology: Final Project Report

Motorists circling or cruising for on-street parking that is free or priced below market equilibrium can contribute to congestion and other problems. This report documents a methodology and tool that can be used to understand cruising for parking and the effects of policy interventions on parking search behaviors. It includes case analyses from four U.S. cities, identifying cruising hot spots by time of day and location and assessing policy impacts. The report also documents lessons learned relating to data quality, tool implementation, and the analyses results.