With a goal of further improving speeds and efficiency along Select Bus Service (SBS) corridors, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is launching a Traffic Signal Priority (TSP) system pilot on the M15 SBS route. MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) is seeking board approval for this contract.

The TSP system will hold traffic signals green, allowing bus customers to shave time off of their commutes and improving bus on-time performance.

“Traffic Signal Prioritization is a vital piece in making bus travel more attractive,” said NYCT President Thomas F. Prendergast. “It is no great secret that the faster and more dependable we can make our buses, the more attractive the service will be to our riders.”

The contract with Global Traffic Technologies, valued at more than $480,000, will see the installation of TSP equipment on up to 60 buses serving the M15 SBS route. The initial TSP-equipped buses are expected to be online in November. There is an option for expansion that includes the provision for installation of equipment on up to 200 additional buses, for which subsequent board approval would be sought.

The TSP effort is being carried out in cooperation with the City Department of Transportation, which has previously installed controller equipment and created a Traffic Management Center.

A version of TSP which does not connect to the Traffic Management Center is in operation on the Bronx’s successful Fordham Road Bx12 SBS.