Maximizing Transportation Efficiency Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Maximizing Transportation Efficiency Act treats transportation demand management, or TDM, as a federal transportation strategy for reducing congestion, improving mobility, improving air quality, and using existing infrastructure more efficiently. It defines TDM to include employer transportation benefits, incentives, pricing, carpooling, vanpooling, trip planning, ridematching, commute-reduction laws, parking management, HOV and HOT lanes, telecommuting, outreach, micromobility, pedestrian infrastructure, active transportation, and other demand-dispersal activities. The bill makes TDM eligible in several federal programs, creates a $20 million annual rural TDM set-aside for rural mobility, jobs access, vanpooling, carpooling, real-time traveler information, smart rural hubs, mobility-as-a-service platforms, and staff costs, and adds a $20 million annual congestion relief set-aside for small projects costing $500,000 to $10 million.
Who Benefits and How
Rural communities benefit from dedicated grants for carpooling, vanpooling, trip-planning apps, commuting incentives, smart rural transportation hubs, and mobility options for residents without cars. State DOTs, MPOs, public transit agencies, Tribal governments, local governments, regional transportation planning organizations, nonprofits, universities, and transportation management associations benefit because they become eligible rural TDM recipients. Commuters and workers benefit from lower-cost travel options, employer benefits, telecommuting, ridesharing, and better access to jobs and services. Small communities benefit from a congestion relief set-aside sized for projects under $10 million.
Who Bears the Burden and How
DOT and FHWA must update program eligibility, administer the $20 million rural set-aside, administer the $20 million small-project congestion relief set-aside, and redirect unused set-aside funds to other program projects. Eligible recipients must develop plans, collect data, run outreach, manage public-private partnerships, operate TDM strategies, and document staff costs. Employers and local governments may need to implement commute incentives, parking pricing, or related TDM policies. Federal taxpayers fund the set-asides through existing program amounts.
Key Provisions
- Defines transportation demand management in title 23 to include pricing, incentives, ridesharing, telework, micromobility, pedestrian, and active transportation strategies.
- Expands federal program eligibility so transportation demand management projects can qualify across multiple transportation programs.
- Creates a $20 million annual rural transportation demand management set-aside for rural mobility and jobs access.
- Creates a $20 million annual small-project congestion relief set-aside for projects costing $500,000 to $10 million.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Defines transportation demand management in federal law, makes TDM eligible across multiple transportation programs, creates a $20 million annual rural TDM set-aside, and creates a $20 million annual small-project set-aside in the congestion relief program.
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Rural Development, Environment
Primary Purpose
Defines transportation demand management in federal law, makes TDM eligible across multiple transportation programs, creates a $20 million annual rural TDM set-aside, and creates a $20 million annual small-project set-aside in the congestion relief program.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Rural communities
- State departments of transportation
- Public transit agencies
- Tribal governments
- Commuters
- Small communities
Identified Costs
- Department of Transportation
- Federal Highway Administration
- Eligible grant recipients
- Employers
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Ms. Strickland introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Commuters, Congestion relief applicants, Public transit agencies
Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
Positive-direction: Department of Transportation
Negative-direction: Federal Highway Administration
Local governments, Small communities
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology