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City of San José turns to AI to speed up public transit
Real-time signal prioritisation reduces delays, improves reliability and supports City’s goals to ease congestion and enhance services through AI innovation.
At a glance
Who: City of San José; Lyt.
What: City of San José has increased bus speeds by 20 per cent by expanding an AI-powered transit technology to all bus routes citywide.
Why: By helping buses move more efficiently through intersections, the technology reduces delays, improves on-time performance, and shortens wait times for riders. It advances the city’s broader goals to reduce congestion and emissions.
Where: The citywide rollout follows a successful pilot launched in 2023 on two bus routes
San José has announced the City has increased bus speeds by 20 per cent by expanding an AI-powered transit technology to all bus routes citywide.
Through a partnership with Lyt, a traffic technology software provider, San José has deployed an AI-enabled transit signal prioritisation (TSP) system that uses real-time traffic data to prioritise green lights for buses.
Reducing congestion and emissions
By helping buses move more efficiently through intersections, the technology reduces delays, improves on-time performance, and shortens wait times for riders – while advancing the city’s broader goals to reduce congestion and emissions.
The citywide rollout follows a successful pilot launched in 2023 on two bus routes, which reduced red-light wait times by 50 per cent and improved on-time performance. Those results demonstrated the potential to deliver faster, more reliable transit service – paving the way for expansion to all bus routes citywide.
"Through our multi-year partnership, San José and VTA have demonstrated what it takes to bring transit priority to a citywide level and make it work day in and day out”
“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,” said Matt Mahan, mayor of San José.
“In San José, we’re finding innovative solutions to make our bus routes faster and more reliable – saving our commuters and working families time and proving that local government can deliver results where it matters most.”
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“Lyt is proud to support the City of San José and the Valley Transportation Authority as they continue to move transit forward across the region," said Tim Menard, CEO of Lyt.
"Through our multi-year partnership, San José and VTA have demonstrated what it takes to bring transit priority to a citywide level and make it work day in and day out. Their leadership has turned innovation into reliable, everyday improvements for riders, strengthening transit as an essential service for the people who depend on it. We look forward to continuing this work together.”
“In San José, we’re finding innovative solutions to make our bus routes faster and more reliable – saving our commuters and working families time and proving that local government can deliver results where it matters most”
San José reports this announcement reflects the City’s broader approach to using AI to deliver real, everyday improvements for residents – from faster buses and safer streets to streamlined permitting and expanded language access. These efforts have made San José a national model for the responsible use of AI in local government. This includes the recent launch of AI for All, a first-in-the-nation public-private collaboration with Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic to provide free access to AI tools and educational resources for all San José residents.
San José also introduced the AI Upskilling programme to help City staff use AI responsibly and effectively, deployed AI-powered object detection to improve road safety, and is using AI to streamline housing permitting – reducing delays for housing projects and small businesses.
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How does AI-powered transit signal prioritisation improve bus on-time performance?What data inputs enable real-time traffic signal adjustments for buses?How does reducing bus delays contribute to lowering city congestion and emissions?What metrics demonstrated success during the 2023 pilot of AI transit technology?How is AI integrated into San José’s broader public service improvements?Latest City Profile
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