FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cloud-Based Transit Signal Priority Innovation to Increase System Reliability, Reduce Overall Implementation and Maintenance Costs

BALTIMORE, MD (March 21, 2024) – The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration has been awarded a $1.276 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionary Transportation (SMART) program. The grant will help install and test new cloud-based transit signal priority (TSP) technology at 90 intersections on four high-frequency bus lines in Baltimore City. TSP improves on-time performance and reliability by reducing the time buses wait at traffic signals by holding green lights longer or shortening red lights.

“Along with the use of dedicated bus lanes, the implementation of transit signal priority technology has been a great benefit to our riders by reducing commute times and increasing the reliability of the bus system,” said Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold. “Developing this new generation of transit signal priority with the addition of cloud-based technology will bring added time savings for our customers.”

The Maryland Transit Administration’s local bus fleet currently uses GPS-based transit signal priority technology. The agency will coordinate with the Baltimore City Department of Transportation to deploy and test the new cloud-based technology along targeted bus route corridors within Baltimore City, which provide high-frequency bus service to connect passengers across northern and central neighborhoods in Baltimore. The project is centered on 28 intersections along York Road and Greenmount Avenue (CityLink Red), 19 intersections along Loch Raven Boulevard (CityLink Green), 26 intersections along Belair Road (CityLink Brown) and 17 intersections along Liberty Heights Avenue (CityLink Lime).

Cloud-based TSP technology communicates with buses in shorter time intervals and is expected to significantly reduce maintenance and operational costs over the long term, leading to a service is more more efficient and reliable.

The Maryland Transit Administration is one of the largest multi-modal transit systems in the United States, and operates Local Bus, Commuter Bus, Light Rail, Metro Subway, MARC Train Service and a comprehensive Mobility paratransit system. The goal of the Maryland Transit Administration is to provide safe, efficient, reliable transit across Maryland with world-class customer service. To learn more, visit mta.maryland.gov, check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/mtamaryland and follow us on X, formerly Twitter @mtamaryland.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Courtney Mims
Office: 410-767-8367
Cell: 667-392-0157
cmims@mdot.maryland.gov

Paul Shepard
Office: 410-767-3935
Cell: 443-622-4181
pshepard@mdot.maryland.gov

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