City of San José Announces 20% Faster Bus Trips Citywide Using AI
Real-time signal prioritization reduces delays, improves reliability, & supports the City’s goals to ease congestion & enhance everyday services through responsible AI innovation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2026
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan
SAN JOSÉ, CA - Today, San José Mayor Matt Mahan announced that the City has increased bus speeds by 20 percent 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 Prioritization (TSP) system that uses real-time traffic data to prioritize green lights for buses. 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 percent 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.
“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 San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “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.”
“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 LYT CEO Tim Menard. "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.”
This announcement reflects San José’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 Program 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. The City is the founding member of the GovAI Coalition, a national network of more than 900 public agencies representing over 150 million residents nationwide, dedicated to sharing practical, open-source AI tools to improve government services. Together, these initiatives reflect San José’s focus on making city services faster, safer, and more responsive to residents’ daily needs.
About the City of San José
With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.