Organizing for TSMO
Case Study 11: Metropolitan Planning Organization Examples

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Historically, transportation agencies have managed congestion primarily by funding major capital projects that focused on adding capacity to address physical constraints such as bottlenecks. Operational improvements were typically an afterthought and considered after the new infrastructure was already added to the system. Given the changing transportation landscape that includes increased customer expectations, a better understanding of the sources of congestion, and constraints in resources, alternative approaches were needed. Transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) provides such an approach to overcome these challenges and address a broader range of congestion issues to improve overall system performance. With agencies needing to stretch transportation funding further and demand for reliable travel increasing, TSMO activities can help agencies maximize the use of available capacity and implement solutions with a high benefit-cost ratio. This approach supports agencies' abilities to address changing system demands and be flexible for a wide range of conditions.

Effective TSMO efforts require full integration within a transportation agency and should be supported by partner agencies. This can be achieved by identifying opportunities for improving processes, instituting data-driven decision-making, establishing proactive collaboration, and developing actionable activities to develop processes that optimize performance.

Through the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2), a national partnership between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the Transportation Research Board, (TRB), a self-assessment framework was developed based on a model from the software industry. The SHRP2 program developed a framework for agencies to assess their critical processes and institutional arrangements through a capability maturity model (CMM). CMM uses six dimensions of capability to allow agencies to self-assess their implementation of TSMO principles²:

1. Business processes - planning, programming, and budgeting.
2. Systems and technology - systems engineering, systems architecture standards, interoperability, and standardization.
3. Performance measurement - measures definition, data acquisition, and utilization.
4. Culture - technical understanding, leadership, outreach, and program authority.
5. Organization and workforce - programmatic status, organizational structure, staff development, recruitment, and retention.
6. Collaboration - relationships with public safety agencies, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), and the private sector.

Within each capability dimension, there are four levels of maturity (performed, managed, integrated, and optimized), as shown in Figure 1. An agency uses the CMM self-assessment to identify their level of maturity in each dimension, to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and to determine actions they can take to improve their capabilities.

Purpose of Case Studies

In the first 10 years of implementation of the TSMO CMM, more than 50 States and regions used the tool to assess and improve their TSMO capabilities. With the many benefits experienced by these agencies, FHWA developed a series of case studies to showcase leading practices to assist other transportation professionals in advancing and mainstreaming TSMO into their agencies. The purposes of the case studies are to:

• Communicate the value of changing the culture and standard practices towards TSMO to stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Provide examples of best practices and lessons learned by other State and local agencies during their adoption, implementation, and mainstreaming of TSMO.

These case studies support transportation agencies by showing a wide range of challenges, opportunities, and results to provide proof for the potential benefits of implementing TSMO. Each case study was identified to address challenges faced by TSMO professionals when implementing new or expanding existing practices in the agency and to provide lessons learned.

Identified Topics of Importance

This case study provides a holistic perspective of successful TSMO programs at MPOs. Highlighting all aspects of specific MPOs is important because MPOs play a critical role in regional planning. Agencies highlighted for this case study addressed those challenges through integrating TSMO-based planning with existing planning processes.

Interviews

Agencies were selected for each case study based on prior research indicating that the agency was excelling in particular TSMO capabilities. Care was taken to include a diversity of geographical locations and agency types (departments of transportation, cities, and MPOs) to develop case studies that other agencies could easily relate to and learn from. Interviews were conducted with selected agencies to collect information on the topic for each case study.

Description of Metropolitan Planning Organizations

MPOs support planning activities for regions of metropolitan areas including development of transportation improvement programs to be included in statewide efforts. This affords a strong understanding of long-range plans for specific regions that can help provide guidance and direction for a TSMO program. Each agency will have a unique approach to TSMO; however, in general, MPOs can play a leading role in the following capacities:

• Strategic Direction - With experience developing long-range plans, MPOs understand the goals of specific regions, which can provide valuable insight for the strategic direction of a TSMO program. MPOs can help ensure that TSMO program objectives are consistent with existing objectives for both the MPO and other local jurisdictions.
• Safety and Mobility Strategies - MPOs can plan for safety and mobility strategies for a region and incorporate strategies into planning documents and programs. This will help ensure that strategies are implemented.
• Funding - MPOs can guide funding decisions for strategies and programs to improve TSMO capabilities. With knowledge of long-term investment plans, MPOs can help identify funding priorities and provide input on where TSMO activities could support existing plans to improve funding potential.
• Collaboration with Stakeholders - The regional focus of MPOs results in a close relationship with local agencies and multimodal agencies. MPOs can facilitate communication and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals. They can also use the long-range planning activities to share information and provide education on TSMO program objectives.