San Jose just made its buses 20% faster

"Public transit could be on the verge of getting a whole lot more efficient. The Bay Area city of San Jose says it has improved public transportation by implementing an AI transit signal priority (TSP) system that makes its bus routes 20% faster and shortens ride times for passengers. An urban planning win, it also broadens the strategies available to other cities looking to improve their public transport. TSP systems are programs that make traffic lights responsive and adaptable to public transportation in real time."

"They can extend a green light to give buses an extra second to make it through an intersection or shorten a red light so they don't have to wait as long. It's similar to the higher-urgency emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) system for first responders. While EVP systems for ambulances, fire engines, and police cars can immediately change signals, TSP systems for buses or trains can only nudge them. The extra moments from those lower-priority nudges, though, can still make a meaningful difference."

"Cities have found other ways to reduce wait times for riders. AI lane enforcement that tickets vehicles driving in or blocking the bus lane cuts the number of illegally parked cars in a hurry. In London, buses have switched to contactless boarding, which led to improved boarding times. San Jose becomes one of several test cities San Jose's TSP was developed by Lyt, a Northern California transit software company. Its software interacts with a transit agency's traffic manager center via a computer called Maestro."

San Jose implemented an AI transit signal priority (TSP) system that makes bus routes about 20% faster and shortens passenger ride times. TSP adjusts traffic signals in real time, extending green lights or shortening reds to nudge buses through intersections and improve on-time performance. The system operates at lower priority than emergency vehicle preemption but still delivers meaningful schedule benefits through small time savings. Other cities use complementary tactics such as AI lane enforcement to ticket bus-lane violators and contactless boarding to speed boarding. San Jose's system was developed by Lyt and connects to traffic manager centers via a Maestro computer.

Read at Fast Company