Recent events have shown the impact of reducing demand on the transportation network will benefit air quality and traffic congestion/ delay.  During the global pandemic, daily peak CO2 emissions declined about 26% globally, and 32% in the US.  Traffic congestion dropped by as much as 73% in the US (99 hours of traffic delay in 2019, 26 hours of traffic delay in 2020).

By using more active demand management technologies, to include load balancing there is an opportunity to improve air quality and reduce congestion in many metropolitan areas.  Demand management strategies try to modify the demand for travel in a way that is based on choices (mode, time, route, etc.), and use incentives and disincentives for using alternatives to driving alone and avoiding the most congested conditions.  

Building on the decision support systems deployed for integrated corridor management in the US, a load balancing system is the next evolutionary step in managing multi-modal, multi-agency transportation networks.  This paper describes the evolution of transportation management from stand-alone systems to integrated corridor management, smart cities, and more recently to demand management systems.  Additionally, the technology and systems needed for a Load Balancing System are discussed.