Innovative Deployments to Enhance Arterials (IDEA)
MTC’s Innovative Deployments to Enhance Arterials (IDEA) is a technical assistance grant program that has been helping cities, counties and transit agencies improve the signal timing of major arterial roadways.
The Bay Area has over 3,500 miles of arterials (high-capacity roads) other than freeways that are used mainly for through travel. Many of these arterials carry heavy traffic and experience significant congestion during weekday peak periods.
IDEA TSP: Transit Signal Priority
The Innovative Deployments to Enhance Arterials Transit Signal Priority (IDEA TSP) program focuses on providing transit signal priority on arterials to make transit faster and more reliable.
TSP on arterial roadways improves transit travel time and reliability, while minimizing impacts to general traffic, by modifying the signal timing to favor transit only when a transit vehicle is present. By reducing red light delays for transit vehicles, TSP will help buses and light rail vehicles move more quickly, predictably and reliably.
When applied across a network of arterials, TSP can lead to:
- Shorter transit travel times
- More effective transit service that attracts new riders
- More reliable travel times, allowing for seamless transfers
- Lower operating costs and more revenue for transit agencies
- Fewer bus-automobile conflicts, improving safety
- Faster response times for emergency vehicles, which will be prioritized at these intersections
When transit is given priority on our roadways, buses and light rail vehicles are able to transport more people in a less stressful, less polluting and less costly manner. Making transit faster and more reliable also helps to address some of the inequities that exist in the current transportation system.
2024 Call for Technical Assistance
The 2024 IDEA TSP Call for Technical Assistance will provide technical assistance through consultant services in two categories:
- Planning and Design to Prepare for Implementation: Support in developing TSP projects through planning and design to create “shovel-ready” projects that could compete for capital funding grants.
- Systems Engineering and Integration: Support in the design, systems engineering and integration of a cloud-based TSP system and/or the communications network required to support traffic signals with transit signal priority.
The 2024 IDEA TSP program has approximately $2 million in federal funds available for technical assistance, but additional funding may be allocated depending on the number of applications received.
This Call for Technical Assistance aims to further the project-readiness of conceptual Transit Priority Projects by developing them into shovel-ready projects that would be more competitive for capital implementation funding.
MTC has over $20 million reserved for near-term capital Transit Priority projects through its BusAID (Bus Accelerated Infrastructure Delivery) and IDEA programs, and anticipates funding opportunities in the future.
Timeline
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| June 2024 | MTC Issues Call for Projects |
| July and August 2024 | Virtual Workshops and Office Hours |
| September 12, 2024 at 4 p.m. | Applications Due |
| November 2024 | Projects awarded |
| Winter 2026 to Summer 2027 | Projects Completed (18 to 24 months after initiation) |
Visit the Technical Assistance Portal for full details on the 2024 IDEA TSP Call for Technical Assistance.
Staff Contact
Britt Tanner, IDEA TSP Program Manager
Phone: 415-778-4414
Email: [email protected]
MTC’s IDEA SAV Program assists public agencies with deploying Shared Automated Vehicle solutions to improve transit service and equity.
In February 2018, MTC awarded $13 million in federal funds to cities, counties and transit agencies for 16 projects to help improve the operation of major arterial roadways and to make these streets more ready for connected and automated vehicle technologies.
The Bay Area has over 33,000 directional miles of arterials and local streets, and approximately 11,000 traffic signals. Traffic congestion, especially during peak hours, can cause delays, safety hazards and air pollution.
