Curious about what VTA is doing to improve the speed of your transit trip? Join us for AskVTA next week to learn more about how technology can keep buses moving more smoothly along our frequent network.
AskVTA: Transit Speed & Reliability
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
VTA is embarking on a comprehensive project to enhance transit speed and reliability. These are related concepts that improve the transit experience for passengers. Speed refers to the average mile per hour rate from one point to another when accounting for delays along the route. Reliability refers to the consistency of travel times during different times of day and different traffic conditions.
Transit speed and reliability are important because:
- they make transit service predictable, which is appealing to riders.
- they make service more cost-effective to operate, which means VTA can operate more service.
- they reduce greenhouse gases, which helps cities achieve GHG and mobility goals.
Implementing transit and speed improvements are the first step toward achieving VTA’s Visionary Network, which would feature across-the-board frequency and hours of operation enhancements to today’s bus and light rail network, designed to support the region’s growing population.
One of the strategies being deployed to improve speed is transit signal priority (TSP). TSP involves using technology that results in extended green lights as transit vehicles approach as well as truncated red lights, shortening the time your bus spends stopped at intersections.
VTA’s current efforts to deploy a centralized transit signal priority system is called the Transit Reliability Improvement and Performance System (TRIPS) project. It differs from previous TSP efforts because the technology is cloud-based, doesn’t require infrastructure components be installed at each traffic signal or on our transit vehicles, and uses smart technology to better manage signal operations for all modes. This session is a chance to learn more about TSP technology and application in our transit system.
Ask VTA has been developed to provide an opportunity for the public to have a deeper discussion about the projects and programs that VTA delivers for the residents of Santa Clara County. For more information or to sign up to be notified of future sessions, visit www.vta.org/ask-vta.