Artificial intelligence is prioritizing green lights for San Jose’s buses — speeding them along their routes 20% faster, city officials say.
The results were announced Thursday by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. He said the technology has been expanded to all bus routes citywide.
The secret is to extend the timing of green lights or shorten red lights for approaching transit vehicles.
San Jose’s traffic management technology comes from Santa Clara-based LYT, using AI and machine learning to optimize traffic signal systems.
“By helping buses move more efficiently through intersections, the technology reduces delays, improves on-time performance, and shortens wait times for riders,” the city said in a press release.
Known as light signal prioritization, or Transit Signal Priority, a similar system is used by San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency.
LYT was founded 10 years ago by an engineer who formerly worked for Toyota and Tesla. It received two National Science Foundation grants to reduce congestion, fuel emissions and travel times, according to the company’s website.
“The citywide rollout follows a successful pilot launched in 2023 on two bus routes, which reduced red-light wait times by 50 percent and improved on-time performance,” the city said.
Mahan, who officially launched his campaign for governor on Jan. 29, said, “If you want to know how well a city’s government is working, look at the basics — how buses run, how parks are taken care of, how fast potholes are filled.”