Transit signal priority detection systems range from $2,500 to $40,000 per intersection and $50 to $2,500 per vehicle, depending on the type of detection used.

Results from TCRP Synthesis Report 83.

Made Public Date
06/03/2013
Identifier
2013-SC00286
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Summary Information

Background
Transit preferential treatments have been deployed across the United States and around the world in order to improve travel times and reliability of bus and light rail routes. Examples of transit preferential treatments include exclusive lanes and median transitways, transit signal priority, queue jumps and bypass lanes, curb extensions, and stop consolidation. The costs of transit signal priority (TSP) systems are reported below. These costs are from a synthesis report on Bus and Rail Preferential Treatments in Mixed Traffic, conducted as part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program, and as such, the costs are compiled from multiple deployment locations.

 

 

 

System Technology Equipment Cost / Intersection Equipment Cost / Bus Operating and Maintenance Costs Jurisdictions using this detection
Optical Optical Emitters Moderate ($8,000 - $10,000) Moderate ($1,000) Emitter Replacement ($1,000) Portland; San Francisco; Tacoma; Kennewick, WA; Houston; Sacramento; and others
Wayside Reader Radio frequency technology. Uses vehicle-mounted tags and wayside antenna, which must be located within 35 ft of transit vehicle. Radio transmits and decoder reads rebound message. High ($20,000 - $40,000) Low ($50) Tag Replacement ($50) King County, WA
"Smart" Loops Loop amplifier detects transmitter powered by vehicle's electrical system. Low ($2,500 per amplifier; use existing loop detector) Low ($200) Same as loop detector Los Angeles; Pittsburgh; San Mateo County, CA;
GPS GPS receivers mounted on transit vehicle. Line of sight not required for detection Moderate ($6,000 - $10,000) High ($2,500) N/A Broward County, FL; San Jose
Wireless Applies unused bandwidth. Use of mesh networking. Moderate (Under $10,000) - Dependent on number of access points Moderate (Under $1,000) High if Cellular Digital Packet, low if LAN Los Angeles County

Table 19: Costs of Different TSP Detection Systems (page 63)

 

 

 

System Cost

See Table