The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) has been awarded $1.2 million in federal grant money to improve traffic signal technology.
The funding will go to installing cloud-based signals at 90 different intersections on four bus lines in Baltimore City.
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).
The Traffic Signal Priority (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.
Cloud-based TSP technology communicates with buses in shorter time intervals. It is expected to significantly reduce maintenance and operational costs over the long term, leading to a service is more more efficient and reliable.
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Source: CBS News
