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.

2024 IDEA TSP: Grant Applications Now Closed

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. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (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.

Eligible Applicants

Public agencies (cities, counties and transit agencies) in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area were eligible to apply for technical assistance under IDEA TSP. Project Sponsors were encouraged to partner with other agencies, such as a local jurisdiction with a transit agency, or multiple transit agencies where transit routes overlap. Projects that include multi-jurisdictional partnerships received funding priority. Projects sponsored by agencies with a city population or monthly ridership under 500,000, or a county population under 1,000,000 were prioritized.

Grant Funding

Grants amounts ranged from a minimum of $50,000 or $100,000 (depending on agency), up to a maximum of $1,000,000. No local match was required, but project sponsors that provided in-kind match were prioritized. 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.

Timeline

Staff Contact

Britt Tanner, IDEA TSP Program Manager
Phone: 415-778-4414
Email: btanner@bayareametro.gov