Commonsense Approaches for Improving Transit Bus Speeds

This report documents the common and perhaps not so commonsense approaches transit agencies have taken to realize gains in average bus speeds. A literature review, survey responses from 31 of 36 agencies (a response rate of 86%), and six case examples offer information with an emphasis on actions that transit agencies can take to improve service speeds, reliability, and attractiveness. The synthesis identifies metrics pertaining to measures such as changes in travel speed and its components, operating cost, and ridership. It shows the results of each or a combination of approaches implemented. The results from this synthesis can benefit every transit agency that operates bus service.