The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s Office of International Programs has released a primer that is designed to introduce and define the active traffic management and travel demand management concepts and explore potential benefits of integrating the concepts into efforts to address congestion on the most affected facilities. The primer provides a conceptual framework, originally suggested by the Dutch Ministry of Transport, for understanding the difference between traffic management and travel demand management.

According to the primer, managing travel demand is effectively addressing congestion before the decision is made on when, how, and whether to use a car. Managing traffic is efficiently addressing congestion once the traveler is in the automobile or has made the decision to use a car. The primer highlights the idea of integrating the two concepts into a holistic approach to congestion management.