Bus Transit Signal Priority (TSP) is an important tool that increases bus speeds and reliability, thereby improving transit system efficiency and effectiveness. Transit agencies implement a wide variety of TSP strategies and parameters and report different levels of benefits from TSP implementations in various traffic conditions and right-of-way treatments (e.g. mixed vs. dedicated guideway).
TTI was recently awarded a new Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis project to examine the current state of practice for bus TSP. Michael J. Walk, Transit Mobility Program Manager, will serve as the Principal Investigator. The project is titled TCRP Synthesis SA-47: Bus Transit Signal Priority – Current State of the Practice.
The project will commence November 2018 and should conclude in August 2019. This synthesis study will document the current practice of transit systems’ use of TSP to meet the different objectives under diverse conditions and will provide:
- An overview of TSP strategies and parameters,
- An examination of the resulting benefits, and
- An assessment of to what extent the disparity in benefits realized are driven by strategy and parameter choices.
Data will be collected using a literature review focusing on modern deployments (both domestic and international), a survey of selected North-American transit systems that utilize TSP, and case examples.