Transportation Demand Management
Transportation demand management can help reduce the number of vehicle trips people take and how far they travel per trip. “Demand” means use of Oregon’s road system, and demand is represented by the growing number of people who want to use it, especially at peak times.
Demand management actions incentivize people to make travel choices that produce less greenhouse gas emissions than a single-occupant trip using a car, truck or SUV. Together with other actions in this category, this can make it easier for a person to own fewer vehicles, or none at all.
Another benefit of demand management is fewer single-occupant car, truck or SUV trips on major roads and highways. This means that as Oregon’s population grows, trips can increase at a slower rate, resulting in more reliable travel for people who are unable to use non-driving options. This can also free up roads for goods movement and reduce the demand for new roads to accommodate Oregon’s population growth.
Ease, accessibility and affordability are important factors in this strategy. People are more likely to choose transportation options that are easier, more accessible or more affordable to them.
Some examples of demand management actions:
Work from home, remote work options and compressed work weeks.
Carpool, commuter vanpool and car sharing programs.
Park and ride facilities.
Bikeshare and scooter share programs.
Transit pass programs. This can include group pass programs for worksites or schools, or discount programs for older adults or people with disabilities.
Limiting free parking for commuters. For example, employers can save on parking costs and compensate employees for giving up a parking space with a “transportation wallet” that helps pay for non-driving modes.
Providing alternate forms of transportation during large construction projects, sporting events or concerts.
Incentive programs that reward people for taking non-drive-alone trips. These can be sponsored by employers or local organizations.
See the Land Use and Pricing, Funding and Markets pages for other ways to manage roadway demand.
Demand management strategies: Emissions reduction vision
By 2035, 66% of business travel will be replaced by remote virtual meetings and conferences, and flexible remote work schedules will be common in most industries.
By 2050, 50% of Oregon’s workers in large urban areas, and 25% in smaller urban areas, will participate in a demand management program like Get There Oregon.
By 2050 most urban areas will have on-demand bike, scooter, and car sharing services.
How Oregon is doing
Telework gains
As of a 2024 Oregon household survey, about 16% of Oregon workers telework on a given day. This is much higher than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, which hovered around 10%.
This means fewer work trips and less greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, despite work commute travel being offset somewhat by other trips, typically occurring in non-peak hours.
Providing transportation options and education
The Oregon Department of Transportation’s Transportation Options Program provides support and resources for managing demand across the transportation system. The program:
Educates students and the public on travel options and how to safely use them.
Connects veterans, low-income populations, communities of color, and others with ways to get to and from work or school.
Supports vanpooling and other options.
The Get There Oregon program is a transportation options collaboration between ODOT and regional partners throughout the state. It helps connect people with providers and has seen a steady increase of users over the last several years. In 2025, almost 24,000 users logged over 217,000 non-drive-alone trips.
In 2026 Get There Oregon added a trip estimator tool to help employers estimate potential reduction in drive-alone trips from implementing various commute options programs.
Investing in vanpools post pandemic
Worker vanpool use decreased during the pandemic, but a new subsidy program will add 150 to 200 vanpools across the state for at least three years.
The subsidies will focus on rural areas, the Portland metro area, and shift-based worksites in the manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and hospitality industries. Transit service to those worksites is rare, so vanpools can give people a shared option to get to work.
Commute options program
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Employee Commute Options program requires employers in the Portland region with more than 100 employees to incentivize their employees to choose alternatives to driving alone to and from work.
DEQ has also developed resources to support employers in other areas of the state who want to set up similar programs.
New transportation planning requirements
Under new planning requirements, cities and counties in Oregon’s eight metropolitan areas must plan for transportation demand management programs. This will help jurisdictions coordinate with transit providers and others that help implement these programs to expand availability. This also includes tracking and reporting progress on these programs.
How Oregon can improve
Keep our current momentum
Current statewide and local demand management actions are working. Oregon needs to keep that momentum into the future to better connect people with low and no emission modes, provide alternatives to driving alone, and keep our telework share high.
Working with local partners in the private and public sectors will be key. This includes collaboration with transit agencies, employers, tourism departments, new residents, and other social organizations. The state can provide focused support through tools and resources like the Get There Oregon mobile app and statewide vanpool programs.
Demand management programs need sustainable funding to be successful. They’re also reliant on investments in non-driving programs, too, like walking, rolling and biking. Recently redirected state funding for walking, biking and transit needs to be restored and replaced with investment sources that allow us to fund ongoing programs and grants.
Expand remote services
Employers can be more flexible with how they reach their customers and workforce. Remote work, telehealth and other remote services can help people or employees avoid a drive alone trip. Investments in high-speed internet can also help people access services at home.
Expand bikeshare programs
Expanding access to transportation options, like riding a bike, can spur more people to use them. As of 2026, public bikeshare programs are only available in some cities in Oregon. Starting programs in more cities, especially ones that offer e-bike or e-scooters, would provide a low-cost option for more people to use active, low emission modes.