By Gov1 Staff
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the City of Boston have announced a partnership to upgrade Boston’s Traffic Management Center, integrating MBTA bus locations into real-time traffic signal adjustments. This initiative, which aims to reduce transit delays by prioritizing buses at intersections, has already delivered significant improvements during a one-year test along Brighton Avenue.
The pilot program, launched in July 2024, installed transit signal priority (TSP) technology at three key intersections along Brighton Avenue—at Allston Street, Harvard Avenue, and Linden Street. These upgrades have reduced bus wait times at red lights by 21% and increased green light arrivals by 5%. This led to faster travel times, with buses saving an average of 16 seconds per trip, totaling 110 minutes saved daily across Routes 57 and 66. Travel time savings were particularly notable during peak hours, with inbound Route 57 trips saving over 60 seconds per journey.
“Traditionally traffic signals have been timed without prioritizing the flow of bus routes. This is another step to retime signals to keep traffic moving for all road users in our city,” City of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said.
The TSP technology uses machine-learning algorithms developed by LYT to track and predict bus locations, allowing Boston’s traffic management center to adjust signals dynamically. Control Technologies, Inc. (CTI), Boston’s traffic signal vendor, worked closely with the MBTA and the City to deploy the system and upgrade traffic signal software for greater flexibility.
The partnership builds on previous successful initiatives, such as the Brighton Avenue bus lane project in 2019. Routes 57 and 66, which serve approximately 15,000 daily riders and are among the top 10 highest ridership routes in the MBTA system, have been primary beneficiaries of the improvements.
Since its establishment in 2019, the MBTA Transit Priority Group has activated TSP technology at 110 locations across six cities and implemented over 40 miles of bus lanes, benefiting 65% of bus passengers system-wide. As the pilot’s success is evaluated, the City of Boston and the MBTA plan to expand TSP technology citywide to further enhance bus travel reliability and efficiency.
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