Traffic Signal Bus Priority: Is it Time for a Health Check?

This article discusses how bus travel times are greatly affected by congestion because they cannot re-time or re-route their trip in order to avoid the congestion. Bus riders cite service punctuality as an important factor in their choice of transportation mode. Traffic Signal Bus Priority (TSP) is widely used by local transportation authorities in the United Kingdom (UK) as an effective tool to reduce the delay caused at traffic signals. There are many studies that detail the benefits of using TSP, but there are also many factors that restrict its effectiveness and this information is not published as widely. In order to better understand the limitations of TSP and make adjustments to better maximize its benefits, the Bristol City County conducted a full review of its' TSP installations. The results of this review are presented in this article.