1 The Role of Transportation Systems Management & Operations in Supporting Livability and Sustainability: A Primer, FHWA, 2012. Available at https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop12004/

fhwahop12004.pdf. 

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

TSMO can support environmental goals by reducing congestion, 

supporting multimodal solutions, and advancing strategies that 

increase mobility without the need to expand roads or undertake 

major construction. TSMO strategies support a multimodal approach 

to transportation, and focus on the movement of people and goods, 

and not solely on vehicles. 

TSMO can benefit the environment by:

 Reducing fuel consumption and improving air quality, diminishing 

the environmentally damaging impacts of congested roads with 

stop-and-go traffic and long periods of idling.

 Improving transportation system efficiency. This helps 

accommodate travel demand within an existing roadway facility 

and reduces the need to build new lanes or facilities, which can 

result in environmental impacts to surrounding communities and 

increased traffic.

 Promoting the use of non-single-occupancy vehicle modes of travel.

 Coordinating quick and safe clean-up of incidents involving 

hazardous materials.

TSMO and environmental professionals all benefit when they collaborate 

on projects and other investments that advance these benefits. TSMO 

strategies promote environmental benefits in a variety of ways:

 Proactively managing traffic during incidents, special events, 

work zones, and poor weather conditions can lead to reduced 

emissions and an overall improvement in air quality. This 

management occurs through monitoring and prediction systems, 

traveler information dissemination, traffic control devices and 

plans, and other systems or tactics. 

 Re-timing traffic signals or adaptive signal control technologies, 

can reduce fuel consumption by up to 7 percent and emissions by 

up to 6 percent.1

WHAT IS TSMO?

Transportation systems management 

and operations (TSMO) is the 

use of strategies, technologies, 

mobility services, and programs to 

optimize the safety, mobility, and 

reliability of the existing and planned 

transportation system. A significant 

cause of congestion and unreliable 

travel is non-recurring events, such as 

crashes and transportation network 

disruptions, bad weather, and special 

events. TSMO enables agencies to 

target the underlying operational 

causes of congestion and unreliable 

travel through targeted solutions that 

typically cost much less and are quicker 

to implement than adding capacity. 

TSMO expands the range of mobility 

choices available to system users, 

including shared mobility and nonmotorized options. 

This Fact Sheet is part of a series that 

explains how TSMO relates to other 

State and local transportation agency 

functions and offices. Other Fact 

Sheets focus on how TSMO relates 

to: asset management, performance 

management, maintenance, design, 

safety, planning, human resources, 

and construction.

ENVIRONMENT

Enhancing Transportation:

connecting tsmo 

and ENVIRONMENT

Photo Source: Getty Images
2 23 CFR 450.322(e) and (f) - Congestion management process in transportation management areas. For more on the CMP see FHWA, Congestion Management 

Process Website. Available at: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/congestion_management_process/. 

3 Federal Highway Administration, Environmental Review Toolkit, NEPA and Project Development Website. Available at: https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/

nepa/classes_of_action.aspx#ce. 

4 Maroszek, M. SFpark Project Proves Smart Parking System Efficiency, GPS Business News, 2014. Available at: http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/SFpark-ProjectProves-Smart-Parking-System-Efficiency_a5199.html. 

5 Oregon Metro, 2010 Regional Transportation Systems Management and Operations Plan, June 2010. Available at: http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/

by.web/id=21962. 

6 Reference Sourcebook for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation Sources, prepared under FHWA Project DTHF61-09-00117, FHWA, 2012.

ENHANCING TRANSPORTATION: CONNECTING TMSO AND ENVIRONMENT

 Applying travel demand management strategies results in the efficient movement of people and goods 

and prioritizes environmentally friendly modes such as walking, cycling, ridesharing, public transit, and 

telework—especially under congested conditions. 

The congestion management process conducted by metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) provides 

an important connection between air quality and TSMO, especially in transportation management areas 

designated as ozone or carbon monoxide non-attainment areas.2 

TSMO projects are often considered categorical 

exclusions in the National Environmental Policy Act 

environmental review process. This shortens review 

time and permits much quicker implementation than is 

possible with traditional expansion projects.3 

The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality 

Improvement (CMAQ) Program, administered by the 

Federal Highway Administration, provides funding 

to eligible surface transportation projects and other 

related efforts that contribute air quality improvements 

and provide congestion relief. TSMO projects can reduce 

emissions rates in many situations and are frequently 

eligible for CMAQ funding.

How has this worked in 

practice?

 A Smart Parking System pilot program in San Francisco (SFpark) from 2009 – 2013 decreased search 

time for parking by 43 percent. This reduction resulted in a corresponding 30-percent decrease in carbon 

dioxide (CO2) emissions among vehicles searching for parking. The SFpark system provided drivers with 

real-time information about available parking spaces.4

 A typical signal timing project in Portland saves over 300 metric tons of CO2 annually per retimed 

traffic signal.5

 Based on one U.S. model, each teleworker reduces CO2 emissions by about 0.5 metric tons per year.6 

Teleworking is a TSMO strategy that reduces transportation system demand.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Joseph Gregory, Federal Highway Administration

(202) 366-0610 | Joseph.Gregory@dot.gov

FHWA-HOP-18-089

December 2018

FHWA’s INVEST (Infrastructure Voluntary 

Evaluation Sustainability Tool) is a web-based 

self-evaluation tool that helps transportation 

agencies assess and advance projects and 

programs that are economically, socially, and 

environmentally sustainable. TSMO investments 

can be evaluated within the Operations and 

Maintenance area of INVEST. Agencies receive 

points for putting in place operational strategies, 

integrating TSMO into design, and monitoring 

progress toward specific goals.

Source: FHWA, INVEST, Version 1.3 . Available at: 

https://www.sustainablehighways.org/. 

The goal of this fact sheet is for environmental and project development personnel to leverage 

TSMO strategies for environmental benefits and consider TSMO as a key tool 

in the toolbox of eco-friendly strategies.