Bus Transit Priority
Commuting by bus can be challenging for riders who travel through high-traffic or congested areas. In conjunction with the Better Bus Project, the T is partnering with communities to help make bus transit faster and more efficient.
Bus Priority Vision and Toolkit
The Bus Priority Vision and Toolkit are two complementary resources supporting the expansion of bus priority investments throughout the MBTA area.
Bus Priority Vision
The Vision is a regional network map of bus priority opportunities that support existing service and is aligned with the Bus Network Redesign. The map is a detailed corridor-by-corridor analysis that enables us to articulate our roadway needs to cities and towns to deliver a fast, frequent, accessible, and reliable bus network over the next 5-7 years. The Bus Priority Vision targets 26 bus corridors which accounts for 10-15% of the bus network, yet benefits 80% of bus riders.
Download the Bus Priority Vision and Corridor Profile
Bus Priority Toolkit
The Toolkit builds off local and national best practices to provide a clear and consistent approach to planning and implementing transit priority treatments. It summarizes the lessons learned from recent projects, outlining the benefits and tradeoffs of each treatment with detailed and illustrative implementation considerations. The toolkit provides a guide to municipal, state, and transit staff through each step of the planning and implementation process.
You can explore each chapter below or download the toolkit in its entirety:
What We're Working On
To have the most significant and timely impact on riders, the MBTA prioritizes bus transit priority projects in areas with chronic delay issues and high ridership. Take a look at some of the projects we're working on to help improve bus transit throughout the region.
Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.
Dedicated Bus Lanes
Featured Project: Columbus Ave Center-running Bus Lane
Dedicated bus lane projects are underway in several municipalities. This work will help improve bus service and relieve congestion in high-traffic neighborhoods. Prioritizing the movement of people over cars will help provide consistent, on-time bus service to riders.
Shared Bus/Bike Lanes
Finding enough space for a dedicated bus lane in the city isn't always possible. In these instances, specific project locations will offer a shared bus/bike lane, queue jumps, or priority bus lane access during peak hours.
Transit Signal Priority
We’re implementing Transit Signal Priority (TSP), which gives preference to transit vehicles at certain intersections, on the Green Line, and bus routes throughout Greater Boston. TSP helps public transit vehicles stay on schedule, resulting in improved travel times and increased reliability.
There are several ways TSP can help commuters:
- Automatically switching signals for all arriving transit
- Strategically switching signals only to allow buses that are running late to take priority
- Coordinating signals to switch based on average bus speed rather than the average vehicle speed
Rapid Response Bus Lanes Program
The Rapid Response Bus Lanes Program is an unprecedented effort to implement up to 14 miles of bus lanes throughout Boston, Chelsea, Somerville, and Everett. Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, these improvements will support public health recovery, improve bus speed, increase reliability, and reduce crowding.
Many of these projects will utilize dedicated bus lanes and shared/bus bike lanes that we’re already in the process of installing.
Photo Gallery
Boston: Summer St Bus Lane
What: Shared bus/bike lane
When: October 2019 onward
Where: Summer St inbound from Dorchester Ave to Atlantic Ave (Financial District)
Routes: 4 and 7
Contact Us
For all queries and comments related to Bus Priority Lanes, please contact the Better Bus Project at betterbusproject@mbta.com
Related Projects
Too many of our bus routes still fail to live up to our own standards. Through the Better Bus Project, we are changing that.
Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.
Related Projects
Too many of our bus routes still fail to live up to our own standards. Through the Better Bus Project, we are changing that.