What is Transportation Systems Management and Operations

Overview

TSMO is a set of strategies that focus on operational improvements that can maintain and even restore the performance of the existing transportation system before extra capacity is needed. The goal here is to get the most performance out of the transportation facilities we already have. This requires knowledge, skills, and techniques to administer comprehensive solutions that can be quickly implemented at relatively low cost. This may enable transportation agencies to “stretch” their funding to benefit more areas and customers. TSMO also helps agencies balance supply and demand and provide flexible solutions to match changing conditions.

The benefits to TSMO can include:

Improved quality of life
Smoother and more reliable traffic flow
Improved safety
Reduced congestion
Less wasted fuel
Cleaner air
Increased economic vitality
More efficient use of resources (facilities, funding)

TSMO looks at performance from a systems perspective, not just one strategy, project or corridor. This means that these strategies are coordinated with others across multiple jurisdictions, agencies, and modes. Integration views the surface transportation network as a unified whole, making the various transportation modes and facilities work together and ultimately perform better. TSMO not only provides public agencies with a growing toolbox of individual solutions but encourages combining them to achieve greater performance on the entire system. Integration can happen on multiple levels:

Implementing and combining strategies as a corridor or region matures in needs.
Developing a framework used to support information sharing between technology deployed on the system.
Developing a workforce that values and prioritizes the use of TSMO solutions across multiple disciplines.
Coordinating day-to-day operational strategies so that corridor, region, or system-wide objectives are achieved.
Incorporating TSMO policies and processes into an agency's normal way of doing business. This step includes TSMO integration with various disciplines, such as planning, program management and design, to support long-term goals for the transportation system. This can be applied both internally and externally.

Other Resources

Operations in the 21st Century DOT: Meeting the Customer Needs and Expectation

Regional Operation in the 21st Century: A Vital Role for MPOs

TSMO in Action Booklet of Example Applications

Developing and Sustaining a Transportation Systems Management and Operations Mission for Your Organization: A primer For Program Planning

AASHTO TSMO Guidance

Planning for TSMO Within Subareas

Planning for TSMO Within Corridors

The Role of TSMO in Supporting Livability and Sustainability

FHWA Operations Benefits/Cost Analysis Desk Reference

FHWA Operations Benefit Cost Analysis Desk Reference: Conducting Benefit/Cost Anaysis of Strategies Impacting Non Typical Traffic Conditions

FHWA Factsheet Highlighting Arkansas Public Outreach During Repaving