Prioritizing Travel by Public Transit

For each street redesign project, the City thoroughly considers dedicated bus lanes and signal priority in creating the design of a street. Through City policies and plans, City staff and departments are directed to make changes that prioritize travel by public transit.

In 2014, 2018 and 2022, the City studied bus delay and unreliability on most bus routes in Cambridge. In the 2018 study, City staff identified locations of concern where bus delay and unreliability were high. The 2022 study identified whether locations of concern still existed after the MBTA Better Bus Project made changes to bus routes.

In locations of concern, the City's departments will consider installing dedicated bus lanes and priority at signals for buses. To do this, this may mean considering:

• restricting parking and loading to specific hours of the day or all day
• dedicating a travel lane to buses only
• relocating bus stops to allow for buses to move more quickly through signalized intersections
• giving more time at a signal for the directions that buses travel, especially when buses are delayed

City staff are researching additional ways to give priority on City streets to buses.

The same approach has been applied with the MBTA and its Transit system. City staff work closely with and advocate for improvements to the Red Line and Green Line, while ensuring increased safety, overall reliability, and equity.