Eric Gneckow of the Argus-Courier reports on Petaluma Transit’s Opticom Transit Signal Priority deployment:
PETALUMA, CALIF. — New technology giving Petaluma Transit buses a little boost at some of the city’s signal lights is proving to have a big impact on the service’s performance, notably without drawing the ire of car-bound commuters, according to the agency’s director.
A first pilot phase of the transit signal priority system launched quietly along McDowell Boulevard in June, with new sensors and controls giving late buses a 10-second edge at intersections along the corridor.
While transit drivers have started to notice the speedier travel times, there have been no comments from drivers since the switch, said Joe Rye, Petaluma’s transit manager.
“Mostly, it’s imperceptible – you don’t even know it’s happening,” Rye said.
Read more at the Argus-Courier website to see how at Petaluma stoplights, public buses go first.
