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Bus Priority

We install bus lanes on key corridors to provide bus riders with reliable, comfortable, and connected service.

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Bus Priority Vision

Route 39 Bus in red painted bus lane on Huntington Ave

The Transit Team is supporting the MBTA’s Bus Priority Vision by designing and implementing bus priority measures on high-ridership and high-traffic corridors. Bus Priority measures are strategies we use to improve service, speed, and reliability for bus riders. Strategies in our Bus Priority Toolkit include bus-only lanes separated from general-purpose traffic, signals that prioritize buses at busy intersections, and better bus stops that facilitate easier and more accessible boarding.  Many of our projects also support planned high-frequency routes in the MBTA’s Bus Network Redesign, which will offer service every 15 minutes or less, seven days a week, from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. 

Learn more about the most common bus priority measures we are implementing here, or view the MBTA's Bus Priority Toolkit Report for more information.

Boston's Bus Priority Network

View a map of the Transit Team's active projects across Boston:

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Bus Network Projects

Projects
Blue Hill Avenue
Brighton Avenue
Columbus Avenue
Hyde Park Avenue
North Station to Seaport
Roslindale
Route 57 Transit Priority Corridor
Rutherford Avenue

Why Bus Priority?

North Washington Street bus lane virtual engagement
Decrease Travel Time

Bus priority provides a dedicated space for bus operations, enabling buses to bypass congestion and make quicker trips.

Real Time Arrival display screen at bus stop
Improve Reliability

With more reliable service, riders can be confident their bus will arrive when the schedule says it will.

 

Silver Line bus in red-painted bus lane on Washington Street
Expand Access

Faster trips allow riders to get to more places within a standard commute time!

Bus Priority Goals

Equity 

Low-income residents and residents of color are disproportionately reliant on the bus for transportation. Slow and unreliable service can have serious impacts on access to work, school, healthcare, groceries, and more. Bus priority measures create faster and more reliable service that can enable all Bostonians, regardless of vehicle access, to reach their destinations quickly and efficiently.

Sustainability

Transportation is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts. Diesel buses have up to 82% less greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile than cars, with even more emissions reduced on hybrid and electric buses! By improving service, bus priority measures encourage a mode shift from cars to public transportation, lowering our emissions and creating cleaner air in Boston neighborhoods.

Safety

In addition to providing better transit service, bus lanes act as a traffic-calming measure. Bus lanes reduce speeding and crashes, and create safer and more livable streets. Bus priority projects also allow for in-lane boarding, which enables easier boarding and makes bus stops more accessible to riders with disabilities.

Mobility

Bus priority measures enable residents to quickly and dependably reach their destinations on public transit, improving access to greater economic, educational, and cultural opportunities and services across Boston.

 

Graphic showing illustration of four streets: one with 50 people on bikes, one with 50 people walking, one with 50 people on a bus, and one with 50 people in 33 cars.

Capacity

Bus priority improves road capacity, allowing corridors to accommodate more people. One sixty-foot bus can hold over 100 passengers! On Columbus Ave, center-running bus lanes increased road capacity by 8,200 people per hour. As Boston continues to grow, bus priority will allow our streets to accommodate higher volumes of travel.

Guiding Plans

Guiding Plans
Go Boston 2030

Go Boston 2030 is the City’s transportation plan, which has guided our transportation investments since its launch in 2017. Go Boston 2030 is a roadmap for achieving ambitious safety, access, climate, and equity goals.

Go Boston 2030
Neighborhood Plans

The City creates neighborhood plans to direct investment and guide the work of city departments, including bus priority projects.

Neighborhood Plans
Center-running red painted bus lanes on Columbus Avenue from an arial view
MBTA Transit Priority Vision

The MBTA’s Transit Priority Vision identifies high-traffic corridors where bus priority will have the largest effect on bus operations. While these corridors cover just 10 to 15 percent of the bus network, they carry 80 percent of all bus riders!

Bus Priority Toolkit

Toolkit

Silver Line bus in red-pained bus lane in downtown Boston

Curbside Bus Lanes

Curbside bus lanes repurpose general-purpose traffic or parking lanes along the curb for dedicated bus operations. Curbside lanes are ideal for streets that are too narrow to accommodate parking-offset or center-running lanes. They require minimal new signage and striping but can be hindered by illegal parking and loading. 

MBTA Route 57 bus in red-painted bus lane on Brighton Ave

Parking-Offset Bus Lanes

Parking-offset bus lanes repurpose a lane of traffic for dedicated bus operations while preserving on-street parking and loading at the curb. They are ideal for streets with a higher need for parking and loading. Offset lanes require the construction of bus bulbs, and sufficient roadway space for a general traffic lane, bus lane, and curbside parking/loading.

Center-running bus lanes on Columbus Ave

Center-Running Bus Lanes

Center-running bus lanes repurpose inner travel lanes for dedicated bus operations. Center-running lanes are one of the most effective tools for bus priority, eliminating most conflicts between buses and other vehicles, and are ideal for high-ridership routes that face significant traffic congestion. They require wide cross-sections with space for median boarding platforms and dedicated transit signals.

Red-painted Bus lane with white "bus bike only" letters on North Washington Street

Bus Bike Lanes

Bus-bike lanes are shared lanes for both buses and people cycling. Although separate bus and bike facilities are ideal, bus bike lanes are implemented on streets with curbside or offset lanes that cannot accommodate separated bike facilities.

Image for roslindale bus lane

Part-Time Bus Lanes 

Part-time bus lanes repurpose general-purpose traffic or parking lanes for dedicated bus operations for certain parts of the day or week. Time-restricted lanes are used on corridors with high bus frequency and high congestion at peak times, which is not reflected during the rest of the day.

Contraflow Bus Lanes

Contraflow bus lanes repurpose a parking or traffic lane for dedicated bus operations that oppose the flow of traffic. Contraflow lanes are ideal for streets where general-purpose traffic has been restricted to one direction, but bus service benefits from bi-directional travel. 

Queue Jump Lanes 

Queue jumps are short dedicated bus lanes approaching intersections that may be paired with transit signal priority. Queue jumps allow buses to bypass traffic at intersections, speeding up service.

Passive TSP 

Passive TSP optimizes signal timings within transit corridors by setting the signal progression based on the average bus speed instead of the average vehicle speed. Passive TSP does not require any specialized equipment at signalized intersections; it only changes the underlying signal coordination and cycle length to favor bus progression through a corridor.

Active TSP 

Active TSP detects a bus approaching an intersection and adjusts the signal timing to reduce the amount of time a bus spends waiting at a red light. TSP helps provide better bus service by detecting buses as they approach a signalized intersection, predicting when the bus will arrive at the intersection, and adjusting the signal timing to reduce how long the bus is stopped at the intersection.

Bus Stop Consolidation 

Bus stop consolidation changes stop locations to make bus operations more efficient. Relocating bus stops can improve transit travel times and reliability by making it easier for buses to pull in and out of stops and travel through intersections.

Bus Bulb

Bus bulbs extend the curb into the parking lane to reduce crossing distance and allow buses to stop in the travel lane. Bus bulbs make stops more accessible and facilitate more efficient bus service.

Columbus Avenue Bus Platform with MBTA Bus

Bus Boarding Islands

Bus Boarding Islands relocate bus boarding areas to medians between center-running bus lanes and general-purpose transit lanes. Median boarding platforms require at least one lane to be reallocated for the length of the platform. 

Bus riders boarding a MBTA Route 7 bus from a floating bus stop on Summer Street

Floating Bus Stop

On streets with bike lanes, floating bus stops relocate the boarding area between the bike lane and bus lane or general-purpose travel lane. Floating bus stops allow buses to stop in-lane and protect the bike lane from conflicts with vehicles. Signage and raised crosswalks can be used to make floating bus stops safer and more accessible for bus riders.

Bus Stops

The City is working to improve the experience of waiting for and boarding MBTA buses. The Boston Transportation Department is working on many initiatives to improve the rider experience at bus stops, including:

  • Making bus stops more accessible for those with physical disabilities. We do this by constructing new ramps and curb bump-outs, allowing passengers to walk or roll directly to the bus door.
  • Ensuring that there are quality bus shelters with benches at each stop along high frequency routes.
  • Adding real-time bus schedule information panels to stops along high-frequency routes. This gives riders an easy understanding of when the next bus will arrive.
  • Developing policies and improving signage and striping. We want to make sure stops are clear at all times for the bus to pull directly to the curb.

FAQs: Bus Priority Process

FAQs

Although the process and timeline may vary, bus priority projects typically follow five steps:

Step One: Identify Transit Speed and Reliability Challenges

Challenges are identified through corridor, neighborhood, or citywide planning efforts. The City collaborates with the MBTA to analyze data and gather information from local stakeholders, community advocacy groups, and community members to identify what corridors are in greatest need of improvement.

Step Two: Define Planning Context and Structure

The City and the MBTA examine the corridor, consult with stakeholders, and coordinate internally to determine the street’s needs. The City and MBTA determine a project funding source and structure at this stage. 

Step Three: Select Treatments

The City and MBTA develop design options and evaluate impacts on the surrounding environment and traffic patterns. Throughout this process, options are presented to the public, and community feedback is incorporated into the designs.

Step Four: Implement Treatments

Finalized designs are added to city streets. The finalized design may range from small “quick-build” pavement marking and signage to entire corridor redesign

Step Five: Evaluate

The city and MBTA collect and analyze data to determine the success of implemented projects. Design changes may be made to improve the project. 

Community outreach is conducted throughout corridor planning and redesign projects. As we begin bus priority projects, we work with bus riders to help us better understand issues on the existing route and corridor. As we continue into the design process, we collaborate with residents to incorporate their priorities and feedback into the final design. Once we have implemented and evaluated the project, we return to the community to share our findings and gather feedback on potential improvements. 

Opportunities for community input may include but are not limited to: 

  • Virtual and in-person open houses and public meetings  
  • Office hours and pop-ups at local libraries, community centers, businesses, and civic centers 
  • Surveys of riders and residents 
  • Site walks with stakeholders and residents

If you have a question, comment, or concern about a current bus priority project, please email transit@boston.gov 

Only sometimes! We choose to permanently implement a project when we have strong evidence supporting the bus priority measure, either from successful projects in similar areas or from comprehensive modeling and analysis. Permanently implemented projects may still be modified after evaluation to improve outcomes. 

We implement a pilot program when there is substantial uncertainty about how a bus priority measure will function in real-world conditions or when additional data and community feedback are needed. Pilot programs are evaluated for a set time, typically around 6 months. Depending on the pilot’s success, it may be kept as a permanent measure, modified, or removed completely. 

In addition to community feedback, bus priority evaluation includes the following metrics before and after project implementation: 

  • Bus ridership
  • Bus travel time 
  • Bus reliability
  • Bus rider satisfaction 
  • Bus operator satisfaction

To understand the impact on other road users, projects may also measure the following metrics before and after implementation: 

  • Vehicle volumes
  • Vehicle delay
  • Bike volumes (for projects where bike infrastructure is also implemented) 
  • Safety metrics (such as vehicle speeds and crash rates)
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