The International Experience — 

Antecedents and Evolution

The antecedents of the ATDM program 

in the United States emerge from 

international experience with active 

traffic management on key highways as 

well as observing how travel demand 

management and traffic management 

are more closely integrated in some 

other countries. 

Active Traffic Management

In 1995, the UK Highways Agency in 

England began to actively manage traffic 

via variable speed limits. In 2002, full 

Active Traffic Management (ATM) was 

installed on the M42 near Birmingham 

and this project has become the most 

widely-cited example of ATM. The focus 

of ATM is to reduce bottlenecks and 

traffic perturbations, by utilizing hard 

shoulder running during peak flows, 

ramp metering, variable speed limits, 

dynamic lane control, detecting and 

clearing incidents quickly and improved 

real-time traffic information.

Since 2002, similar projects have been 

implemented in the UK under the 

banner of the “Managed Motorways.” 

ATM has most recently been planned 

What is Active Transportation 

Demand Management (ATDM)?

ATDM is the dynamic management, 

control, and influence of travel demand, 

traffic demand, and traffic flow of 

transportation facilities. Through the 

use of available tools and assets, 

traffic flow is managed and traveler 

behavior is influenced in real-time to 

achieve operational objectives, such 

as preventing or delaying breakdown 

conditions, improving safety, 

promoting sustainable travel modes, 

reducing emissions, or maximizing 

system efficiency. Under an ATDM 

approach, the transportation system is 

continuously monitored. Using archived 

data and or/predictive methods, actions 

are performed in real-time to achieve or 

maintain system performance.

Purpose of the brief 

Active management of transportation and demand can include multiple 

approaches spanning demand management, traffic management, parking 

management, and efficient utilization of other transportation modes and assets. 

This Informational Brief provides an overview of the origins and the 

evolution of active management concepts in Europe and elsewhere and 

how this international experience is influencing the evolving ATDM program 

in the United States.

Active Transportation 

and Demand Management

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

Monitor System

D

ynamic Actions

Evaluate & Recommend

Assess System

Performance

Implement

Dynamic Actions

ATDM

ATDM Program Brief: The International Influence on ATDM in the United States

Early 90s 

Active Management 

approaches in UK,

Netherlands

Early 2000s 

M42 ATM 

Concept of Managed 

Motorways

Dutch Active Management 

Approaches

Late 2000s 

Additional implementations 

of ATM in UK

Studies and projects in 

Australia and New Zealand

Rush-plus lanes in Holland

Figure 1. International ATM evolution.

and implemented in Scotland, 

Australia, and New Zealand, using the 

experience of the Highways Agency 

and its consultants. For example in 

Australia, the Queensland Department 

of Transport and Main Roads Western 

Australia is planning to progressively 

implement ATM across facilities in 

south-east Queensland, integrating 

coordinated ramp metering strategies, 

lane use management, variable 

speed limits, dynamic message 
ATDM Program Brief: The International Influence on ATDM in the United States

Dynamic Route Information Panels (DRIPs) in Netherlands. 

Source: Robert Hull

Active Traffic Management on M42. Source: UK Highways Agency

signs, improved incident detection, fixed speed enforcement 

cameras, priority access for high occupancy vehicles and 

freight interchange controls and queue management. 

Similarly, the Dutch Ministry of Transport has been 

implementing active traffic management since the early 

1990s. The current Dutch transport policy is aimed at network 

optimization, and actively manages the system to reduce 

structural congestion (recurring) and nuisance congestion 

(non-recurring). The Dutch have employed aspects of ATM for 

some time, starting with variable speed limits and 119 dynamic 

route information panels (DRIPs), or variable message signs 

with travel times for parallel routing. More recently, the Dutch 

have employed 16 “rush hour lanes,” using the hard shoulder 

and reducing speeds during heavily congested periods. 

ATM planners in Europe and elsewhere now use a diverse and 

flexible set of tools to manage their facilities. Commonly used 

strategies as part of ATM implementations include:

•	 Variable Speed Limits — adjusting speeds in response to 

or in anticipation to conditions upstream 

•	 Hard Shoulder Running — operating shoulders as travel 

lanes for additional temporary capacity

•	 Dynamic Merge Control — controlling merge behavior 

and lane utilization on mainline and ramps using lane 

control signs 

•	 Adaptive Ramp Metering — metering of the entire facility 

and coordination with adjacent signal networks 

•	 Queue warning and traveler information — providing 

travelers with queue, congestion and incident warnings on 

side-mounted or overhead message signs

As the UK, the Netherlands and other countries implement 

these strategies, they have had to consider revising or adapting 

their design standards for shoulder functionality, street lighting, 

signage, lane widths, emergency breakdown areas and 

junction design. More broadly, the adoption of ATM tools has 

pushed agencies toward a more performance- or risk-based 

approach to design. On an actively managed roadway, the 

needs and solutions may differ from a traditionally managed 

facility. Given that many of these projects were pilots, agencies 

typically undertook extensive feasibility studies to analyze, 

model and determine appropriate selection of tools based on 

the problem and the roadway geometry. 

The benefits of these ATM strategies, especially variable 

speed limits, have been reported as: compliant drive behavior, 

improved vehicle throughput, travel time reliability, improved 

safety (especially during inclement weather) and reduced 

emissions. A 3-year safety review of M-42 highlighted a 

reduction in the number and severity of personal injury crashes 

when the ATM operational regimes were in effect. 

Consideration of Demand Management as Part of 

Transportation Operations

As ATM tools continue to be applied in Europe, both the Dutch 

Ministry for Transport and the UK Department of Transport 

recognized that ATM addresses only part of the congestion 

problem and that there is a parallel and complimentary need to 

manage the demand on the transportation system. 

The Dutch model of travel demand and traffic management 

involves a three-stage process that recognizes the difference 

between travel demand management and traffic management 

and places these concepts into a larger framework of travel 

choices and congestion-reduction techniques. As shown in 

Figure 2, the process begins with the consideration of overall 

travel demand and moves through traffic demand and network 

demand. Through both traffic and travel demand management 

strategies, the framework shows how travelers can be provided 

choices across mode, destination, route, and time. 

The framework brings a greater consideration of demand 

management strategies as a day-to-day operational approach. 

Branded often under the “Mobility Management” umbrella, 

demand management approaches provide travelers with smarter 

multimodal choices in their travel. 

Of particular interest in Europe were new partnerships, financial 

incentives, and access management to affect day-to-day 

decision-making by the traveler. Enabled by the connectivity 

offered by wireless technology, today, in many of the corridors 

receiving ATM treatment, the British and Dutch emphasize 
ATDM Program Brief: The International Influence on ATDM in the United States

Traffic

Incident

Management

Transportation

Management

Center

On/Near-Trip

Information

Systems

Lane and 

Speed Control 

Systems

Pre-Trip

Information 

Systems

Mode and

Destination

Choice

Route and

Time

Choice

Lane

Choice

Pricing 

Systems

Transport

Demand

Traffic

Demand

Network

Demand

Traffic Management Demand Management Traffic Management/Demand Management

Figure 2. Modified Dutch model of travel demand and traffic management. Source: FHWA, Managing Travel Demand: Applying European 

Perspectives to US Practice, May 2006

demand management as well to redistribute travel demand to less 

congested time periods, routes, and shifting of travelers to nonauto modes, such as public transport. 

For example, the Dutch have been piloting the concept of Rush 

Hour Avoidance, which pays commuters for staying off congested 

facilities at peak times. This involved piloting an incentive 

program to induce travelers to avoid the A12 motorway between 

Zoetermeer and The Hague during the rush hour period of 

7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Participants were offered a financial incentive 

of about US $4 per day (or, alternatively, a chance to win a smart 

phone) to avoid traveling on the facility during this time. Cars were 

fitted with transponders to record where and when participants 

traveled. The number of participants traveling during the peak 

congested hours was halved during the experiment. While some 

who avoided the peak hours shifted to carpools, transit, and 

cycling (the opening of a new rail service in the corridor was 

delayed), the greatest proportion simply shifted the hours they 

traveled, most to before 7:30 a.m. The success of the experiment 

is now being replicated on another stretch of the A12 to Gouda. 

Even public transit operators are using the program to shift riders 

outside the overburdened peak period.

Similarly, a recent U.K program called Integrated Demand 

Management, sought to bring both demand-side strategies as 

well as ATM into a common approach to improving mobility and 

safety on a facility. 

Influence of International Applications on the U.S. ATDM Program

These international experiences have provided the impetus for 

the development of an ATDM program in the U.S., drawing from 

the three technical exchanges between U.S. and European 

transportation professionals in 2005, 2006, and 2011.1

The ATDM program has been adapted to meet the needs of 

the stakeholders in the U.S. The following table highlights the 

key influences from Europe and how they shape the ATDM 

program in the U.S.

1 Managing Travel Demand: Applying European Perspectives to US Practice, May 2006 (FHWA-PL-06-015); Active Traffic Management: 

The Next Step in Congestion Management, March 2007 (FHWA-PL-07-012); Freeway Geometric Design for Active Traffic Management 

in Europe, March 2011 (FHWA-PL-11-004)
ATDM Program Brief: The International Influence on ATDM in the United States

Influences from Europe Adaptation to the U.S. Environment Key Thrusts of the ATDM Program 

Active management as a tactical 

philosophy 

Through the international scans, the value of 

being more proactive and dynamic in overall 

operations was noted. Current operations in 

the U.S. can benefit from such a shift. 

Focus on increasing U.S. operating agency’s 

capability to actively manage their facilities, 

maximizing the use of data, performance assessment 

and continuous improvement. 

Use of ATM strategies to manage 

motorways

Many of the ATM strategies are of interest in 

the U.S. Several have been tried in isolation 

or as part of pilots here. 

Continue to promote adoption of ATM strategies, 

elaborating on how they can be used in the U.S. 

environment. Focus on a wide range of tools and a 

wide range of application settings ranging from spotspecific deployments to synergistic large-scale ATM. 

Moving toward a performanceor risk-based approach to design 

for ATM

ATM strategies need to be adapted to the 

U.S. environment focusing on the unique 

challenges faced by agencies in design, 

operations, maintenance and enforcement. 

Specific focus is on how the ATM strategies used 

in Europe can be adapted to U.S. facilities including 

appropriate design, operations and maintenance, 

safety, and institutional considerations. A key aspect 

of the ATDM program involves the sharing of best 

practices and the development of guidance and 

technical support to help agencies evaluate and 

implement ATM in their regions.

Consideration of TDM strategies 

as part of traffic operations

Traditional TDM is well established in the 

U.S. In fact, some areas such as carpooling 

have a long and storied history in the U.S., 

more so than in Europe. However, traditional 

TDM approaches have focused on longterm behavior changes. Examples from 

Europe point to a more operational use of 

TDM to influence day-to-day travel behavior 

via incentives, partnerships and traveler 

information for a wider variety of applications.

The ATDM program in the U.S. supports the 

development and adoption of active or dynamic 

approaches to manage demand, especially for shortterm travel behavior modifications. 

While traditional TDM will continue to play an 

important role, the ATDM program is focused on 

strategies that involve influencing travel choices in an 

active manner. 

The ATDM program in the U.S. continues to emphasize the 

focus on active traffic management pioneered in Europe. 

Active traffic management is a tactical 

approach to operating systems programs 

and technologies differently and focusing 

on applying more hands-on and dynamic 

approaches through real-time and 

predictive data analyses. 

The program aims to increase the overall 

capability of agencies to actively manage 

their facilities maximizing their use of existing 

investments in infrastructure and data. 

Early instances of active management 

have focused on freeway facilities in the 

U.S. ATM implementations in Seattle and Minneapolis have 

directly benefited from European examples and various new 

deployments are currently in planning stages. There is great 

interest from the transportation community in deploying 

some of the strategies seen in Europe. The program seeks to 

provide technical guidance and support to 

encourage adoption of such strategies as 

appropriate. 

Additionally, the U.S. ATDM program 

champions the consideration of active 

demand management strategies 

emphasizing choices along the traveler’s 

trip. Through home-grown concepts such 

as Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) 

projects in San Diego and Dallas, and 

innovative TDM technology trials (such 

as dynamic ride-sharing, parking pricing) 

throughout the U.S., the ATDM program in the U.S. has taken 

on a multimodal flavor involving a larger group of stakeholders 

in the U.S.

SF Park Parking Information Sign.

Source: SF.Streets Blog

ATDM Project Informational Briefs

This informational brief is one of the ATDM briefs in the 

Program category of the FHWA ATDM Briefs Series. 

ATDM briefs are or will be available in the categories of: 

•	 ATDM Program Yellow

•	 ATDM Planning Purple

•	 ATDM Analysis Orange

Bob Sheehan

Robert.Sheehan@dot.gov

(202) 366-6817

Jim Hunt

Jim.Hunt@dot.gov

(717) 221-4422

James Colyar

James.Colyar@dot.gov

(360) 753-9408

Greg Jones

GregM.Jones@dot.gov

(404) 562-3906

For more information:

FHWA-HOP-12-048

AUGUST 2012

•	 ATDM Design Green

•	 ATDM Operations Red