Prioritisation to improve bus transit
Public transport passengers want reliable schedules, frequent services and good prices. Transit agencies can easily meet these demands by using Transit Signal Priority (TSP) to improve travel times and reduce fuel consumption by eliminating idling at intersections. By choosing the right solution they can do much more for their customers.
Giving priority to buses is nothing new – it’s been used for more than 50 years. What is new is the reliability and versatility of V2X-based systems compared to legacy infrared beacons.
V2X communication works over a dedicated radio frequency in all weather conditions, from behind objects or around street corners. Connected buses continuously communicate with the roadside infrastructure so the system react to events in real time.
“Our V2X-based TSP still helps the bus even when it’s on the dedicated lane to get a green light in time as opposed to just randomly hitting the green and the red based on the normal timing cycle.” – Blaine Leonard told us for our blog post when we asked about the bus lane project of the Utah Transit Authority.
Connected vehicles that don’t spend much time idling at signalized intersections can decrease their fuel consumption by as much as 22 percent. TSP enables even more significant improvements in emmissions and delay times.
This permanent V2X communication channel between the buses and the infrastructure can also be used to improve road safety. Bus drivers can be alerted of vulnerable road users in the vehicle’s blind spot, including those who are in a hurry to catch their ride.
Public transport blocked by snow in winter? Add V2X onboard units to the city’s snowplow fleet to clear the road before the buses with high priority, using the same V2X infrastructure.
Cities and travel agencies can benefit even more from having a digital V2X transport infrastructure that improves transit efficiency, traffic conditions and road safety. To learn more, contact Gary Brady who will guide you through the details.
Protected bus lanes in a nutshell
– Buses get a green light from the Traffic Light Controller via V2X technology
– V2X uses GPS and more advanced localization services to determine the position of the buses
– V2X works without a line of sight and weather-proof.
– Traffic Light Controllers get real-time data from authorized buses to adaptively create protected corridors.
– Cities can use the same V2X deployment for multipole use cases to improve road safety for Vulnerable Road Users
– Buying new roadside cameras, sensors and traffic light controllers or integrating existing ones with V2X both works well
– V2X and smart sensors provide more detailed traffic data than anything before
Making V2X part of everyday operations brings the most out of it
Facts & Figures
– Active TSP can reduce transit delay significantly. In some cases, bus travel times have been reduced around 10%, and delay was reduced up to 50% at target intersections.
(NACTO)
How Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Works?
The image shows Smart Intersections equipped with V2X RSUs, cameras, intelligent Traffic Light Controllers, and V2X-enabled buses. The buses communicate with the Traffic Light Controller to coordinate the phase with the movement of the bus. One of the buses is on a bus lane, right after getting a green light and passing through the intersection. Other buses travel on normal lanes. At the same time, cameras help bus drivers to see pedestrians who get the green light at the same time as them – in the same direction – but cross each others’ path behind the curve.
Talk to the team!
Gary Brady
+1 404 236 9364
[email protected]
