About the Inventory

NACTO surveyed transit agencies, city departments of transportation, and road agencies across the U.S. and Canada between March and April 2026. 

Survey Structure

The survey’s questions were organized in four sections: agency information, transit priority activities, staffing and organizational structure, and successes and challenges of transit priority. 

In Transit Priority Activities, we inquired about strategic guidance, use of a variety of design and programmatic tools to improve bus priority, programmatic approaches to improving bus speed and reliability, and programmatic approaches to delivering bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor projects.

In Staffing and Organizational Structure, we asked how transit priority functions were organized within the agency, how transit priority work was funded, how many staff were dedicated to transit priority, and to self-report on the maturity of a transit priority program (if one existed).

In Successes and Challenges, we asked respondents to indicate the level of success they’ve had in establishing partnerships with other governmental agencies, securing funding, rallying support from community members and leaders, building internal knowledge and capacity, and gathering data.

Survey Response Size

Seventy-two agencies responded to this survey: 34 city departments of transportation (DOTs), 35 transit agencies, two regional agencies that don’t operate transit service, and one state DOT. 

Sixty-four of the respondents were from the United States and represented 25 U.S. States and the District of Columbia: 31 city DOTs, 30 transit agencies, two regional agencies that don’t operate transit service, and one state DOT. Californians represent 15% of the survey sample.

Eight respondents were from four Canadian provinces: four city DOTs and four transit agencies. 

For more details on the survey questions and responses, see the Appendix.