Implementing Transit Priority requires a fundamental shift toward viewing traffic signals and corridors as controlled infrastructure, rather than passive assets. The State’s own review identifies several long-standing barriers that prevent meaningful improvements in transit performance:
- Inability to measure transit performance and the actual benefits of TSP solutions.
- Lack of standardized communication protocols across signal systems and vendors.
- Mismatch between solution pricing and agency needs, driven by a market assessed largely through surveys and legacy technology evaluations.
For more than 45 years, the industry has been unable to quantify TSP benefits or establish a common technical language for components to communicate reliably. With modern service models and new technologies, California now has the opportunity to redefine the paradigm and lead a statewide mobility transformation. A multi-modal, citizen-centric perspective—drawing from adjacent industries and next-generation operational practices—creates the necessary tension to challenge the status quo and modernize expectations. Notably, Caltrans’ ongoing evaluation of statewide signal-controller software, including the AB3418 protocol, presents an opportunity to enable NTCIP functionality without wholesale hardware replacement, requiring only targeted CPU upgrades.
The complete report can be found here: link and downloaded here