Why TMAs Are the Best Friend Most Employers Have Never Heard Of

Savvy executives and managers are always cultivating new resources to keep their teams running smoothly. Whether it’s staying on top of new technologies, spreading awareness about professional development opportunities, or sharing insightful case studies, there’s much to be learned by looking around for new inspiration and partners.

If you’re interested in helping your employees get to work feeling relaxed, save money on their commute, or better navigate their city, there’s one place you may not think to look: your local Transportation Management Association.

What’s a TMA?

Technically, a Transportation Management Association, or TMA, is a member-funded organization focused on improving transportation in a specific community or region. They might advocate local governments to improve transportation options, publish marketing campaigns, or operate their own services. All these activities, staff, and resources are intended to reduce the number of cars clogging up local roads and parking facilities.

In practice, many kinds of organizations perform these functions. 

• True, TMAs are non-profits, but many local governments and transit agencies operate programs with similar missions.
• True, TMAs are focused on a specific, defined community, such as a neighborhood or business district. Some TMA-like programs support an entire city or even state!
• True, TMAs are funded by fees from local businesses and real estate developers. Many also earn public and private grant funding to support mission-aligned projects.

When looking for the services of a TMA, consider also searching for local Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs) or Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs). Some Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), Councils of Government (COGs), and even city and county governments, while themselves part of the public sector, run programs that operate like a TMA.

What can TMAs do for employers?

For employers looking to improve their employees’ wellbeing, to win support for return-to-office policies, or to support overall employee productivity, TMAs and TMA-like organizations are standing by ready to help. Best of all, many of these services are available to local employers and employees entirely for free.

The most common services offered to employers are:

• Carpool matching. Your employees can sign up to be matched with drivers and passengers traveling similar routes at similar times. 
• Guaranteed Ride Home. Also called “Emergency Ride Home”, GRH programs are designed to give employees the peace of mind to commute without their own car. If, for example, a commuter takes transit to work but needs to get home quickly in an emergency, the GRH program will reimburse them for the cost of a taxi or rideshare.
• Advice on local transportation requirements, policies, and programs. Do you want help interpreting and abiding your city or state’s commuter benefit mandate? Do you want to know when your city will build bike lanes by your office, or how budget cuts might affect nearby transit routes? Your TMA wants to help you stay informed.
• Program design. Is your organization looking to reevaluate how it supports commuters? Ask your TMA for advice. They likely have research materials ready for you to implement immediately, such as commuter surveys, email templates, printed literature, and more. And when you’ve collected your employees’ input and your stakeholders’ needs, ask them again for suggestions and local best practices. 
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“Take advantage of a TMA or TMO or organization that's offering [help]. I think companies get a little spooked—“how can this be free?” [TMAs] receive funding! We have staff time and resources to contribute. Just agree to participate! People just always think, what's the catch? In this situation I really don't know that there is one.” - Nikki Washington, Program Manager, Perimeter Connects 

Examples of how TMAs support employers and their commuters

Your TMA is likely already hosting events and services that your employees would enjoy. Here are some recent and ongoing examples from around the United States that were all made available at no cost to employees or their employers:

• This summer, A Better City in Boston organized a guided bike ride series to introduce bike-commuting employees to several new protected bike routes that the city recently built. A Better City is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
• 511CC, across the Bay from San Francisco, offers year-round Commute Coaching to residents and employees. Curious about trying a new commute but need more information? Their staff will walk you through your options. 511CC is a program of Contra Costa County’s transportation authority.
• Commute Seattle offers free consulting services to help property owners and managers plan and upgrade their bicycle parking facilities, among other things as part of their Project Manager Toolkit.
• Transportation Connections in Boulder offers on-site and virtual education events about sustainable transportation, including tabling events and webinars. Transportation Connections is a TMO run by Boulder’s Chamber of Commerce.
• The Commuter Krewe in Baton Rouge will help design, distribute, and analyze employee commuter surveys, to make sure employers are offering the transportation support their employees actually want and need.

Where can I learn more about TMAs?

Our 2025 State of Commuter Benefits report features interviews with TMA staff about how they help employers. For additional information, check out these resources:

• A Better City conducted longitudinal research on commuting patterns
• The Journal of Public Transportation published an in-depth history on TMAs
• The Association for Commuter Transportation contributed to this comprehensive guide for TMAs (published in 2001, so it’s a little out of date!)