1Prepared by AC Transit Service Development Transit Signal Priority For the San Pablo Rapid Bus.

1 Prepared by AC Transit Service Development

Transit Signal Priority

For the

San Pablo Rapid Bus


Summary

• San Pablo Rapid Bus Overview

• East Bay SMART Corridors Overview

• TSP Implementation


San Pablo Corridor Characteristics

• Located in East Bay of SF Bay Area

• 14-mile long corridor• Half of route on state

highway• Runs parallel to I-80• Includes 7 cities in 2

counties• Significant congestion at

some segments


• Serves 15,000 passengers daily

• Limited and local service• Bus stops every 800 ft on

average• Serves Downtown

Oakland, major shopping centers, a hospital, a local college, BART train stations, and other attractors

Current Transit Conditions


Line 72 R - San Pablo Rapid Bus

• Headway based schedule, 12-minute headways• Stops one-half to two-thirds of a mile apart, on

average• As many stops far side as possible• Traffic signal coordination, transit signal priority,

queue jump lanes• Recognizable shelters, with Rapid branding and

bus arrival information signs• Recognizable vehicles, with Rapid branding and

features which reduce dwell time.


• Contra Costa Transportation Authority ($1 mil.)

• Alameda Congestion Management Agency ($3 mil.)

• FTA Earmark ($0.5 mil.)

Rapid Bus Funding


Line 72R - SAN PABLO RAPID BUS

Implemented June 30, 2003

East Bay SMART Corridors Program

October 1, 2003


East Bay SMART Corridors Program Description

• A multimodal program to increase the efficiency & safety along the I-80 and I-880 corridors

• The focus of the program is on the arterials, not the freeways

• The program is a partnership of 25 federal, regional, and local agencies

• Alameda County Congestion Management Agency (ACCMA) is the lead agency for planning, design, construction and maintenance and management of the system

• Each local agency is responsible for operations under a unified Operations and Management Plan


Program Participants

Planning AgenciesAlameda County Congestion Management Agency

(ACCMA)Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA)West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory CommitteeMetropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

Federal AgenciesFederal Highway Administration (FHWA)Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

State AgenciesCalifornia Department of Transportation (Caltrans)California Highway Patrol (CHP)

Transit AgenciesAC TransitWestern Contra Costa Transit Authority (WestCAT)Union City Transit

Local AgenciesCity of AlbanyCity of BerkeleyCity of El CerritoCity of EmeryvilleCity of HaywardCity of HerculesCity of PinoleCity of RichmondCity of OaklandCity of San LeandroCity of San PabloCity of Union CityAlameda CountyContra Costa County


SMART Corridor Goals

• Collect real time information about corridor conditions and disseminate to the transportation managers and to the public

• Create monitoring capabilities along the corridor for the transportation agencies

• Exchange information between the agencies

• Improve coordination between the agencies

• Improve transit service in the corridors

I-80 - San Pablo Ave Corridor

• 20 miles segment – Approx. 100 signals

• Average Daily Traffic– San Pablo: 20,000 to 45,000

– I-80:150,000 to 260,000

• Over 10 major connectors to I-80

I-880 Corridor

• 18 miles arterial roadways– International Blvd– East 14th– Hesperian Blvd– Union City Blvd– San Leandro St./Blvd – Approx. 120 signals

• Average Daily Traffic– Arterials: 15,000 to 50,000– I-880: 120,000 to 200,000

• Over 15 major connectors to I-880


Agreements and Management

• Two Memorandum of Understanding – San Pablo and I-880 Corridors

• Cooperative Agreement for Construction– 15 Agreements to delegated authority for construction to

ACCMA • Operations & Management Agreement

– One unified agreement for system management and operations• Four Subcommittees oversee the program management

and operations– Transit and Traveler Information– Operations (Oversight for TSP)– Maintenance– Incident Management


TSP Implementation

• Route 72R - San Pablo Rapid– San Pablo Avenue from

Contra Costa College to 20th Street – 62 intersections (completed)

– Broadway Avenue from 20th to 3rd – 16 intersections (final design phase)

– Total of 78 intersections– 14 miles

• Only 72R buses have TSP capability


TSP Strategy

• Transit Priority is based on a headway system– If the bus is behind the pre-

established headway, the request is granted

– If the bus is ahead of the pre-established headway, the request is denied

– The headway is independent of travel direction


TSP Parameters

• Time of Day Plan – Currently set between 6 AM to 9 PM, Monday to Friday

• Headway parameter – Currently set at 10 minutes• Once a priority request is received, the firmware

starts a timer– If the next request is received after the headway time, the

request is granted; otherwise, the request is denied

– The request is independent of direction

– Only Phases 2 and 6 are currently programmed


TSP Options

• Transit Priority is granted using either:– Early Green – Green Extension– Currently set at 10% of cycle length or 10

seconds, based on typical cycle lengths of 90 to 100 seconds


TSP Hardware

• Optical Detectors

• Priority Request– High Priority –

Emergency Vehicles– Low Priority –

Transit Signal Priority


TSP Hardware and Firmware

• Detection is based on Optical Detection – “Opticom”– Detection zone is set at 300 feet

from the intersection

– Based on 10 seconds arrival time to the intersection

• Logic is performed locally at the controller level– Type 170 controller with Caltrans

C-8 firmware

– Type 170 controller with BI Trans 233 firmware


TSP Functional Specifications

• Transit priority operates for pre-timed, semi-actuated, and fully actuated intersections.

• Transit priority functions in free running and coordinated modes.

• Transit priority sequence operates by ending an opposing phase early to give an early green or extending the green interval with the transit priority call.

• Vehicle and pedestrian phases are not be skipped to serve an opposing transit priority call.


TSP Functional Specifications (cont.)

• Transit priority calls are non-locking. Transit priority sequence terminates in the absence of a call.

• After serving a transit priority call, traffic signal returns to normal operation within the next cycle, under coordination mode.

• The controller recognizes and begins the transit priority sequence, if all conditions are satisfied, in about 2 seconds after receiving a valid transit priority call.

• Transit priority calls are served on a first come first served basis.


• Transit priority is turned on and off through a lookup table. This lookup table includes time-of-day and day-of-week parameters.

• There are four (4) user settable headway time intervals selectable through a time-of-day and day-of-week table. The User will have the ability to select different headways, based on Time of Day.

• There are four (4) independently tracked transit priority approaches with independent timers and setup parameters.

TSP Functional Specifications (cont.)


Results

• Initial evaluation has shown that TSP combined with other Rapid Bus components has resulted in 18% reduction in total travel time and increased ridership of 22%.

• An after study will be conducted later in the year• General perception has been that transit vehicles

have a better progression along the corridor, with little or no impacts on side streets

• Continuing to fine-tune the system


Future TSPEast 14th/International Blvd

• Route 82 (Future 82R)– Hesperian to Broadmoor –

14 intersections In construction)

– Broadmoor to 14th – 21 intersections (future addition -grant funds are secured)

– Total of 35 intersections

– 9.1 miles


Final Notes

•East Bay SMART Corridor Program is instrumental in resolving institutional barriers and ongoing implementation of TSP

•TSP provides an incremental operational improvement and is an integral part of AC Transit’s Rapid Bus implementation

•Far side stops

•Install TSP at all intersections - Less likely to have impact on minor intersections

•Headway based TSP (no in between timepoints) results in simpler TSP implementation

•Opticom system serves both Emergency Vehicles & Transit Vehicles


Additional Information and Contacts

• AC TransitCesar Pujol, Traffic Engineer(510) [email protected]

• Alameda County CMACyrus Minoofar, Principal Engineer(510) [email protected]

1Prepared by AC Transit Service Development Transit Signal Priority For the San Pablo Rapid Bus.

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