In recent years, convenience-related non-safetyapplications (e.g., parking guidance, ETC (Electronic TollCollection), car navigation and traffic signal control systems) areinteresting and enticing aspects of VANETs (Vehicular Ad-hocNetwork), with a number of public non-safety services such asTransit Signal Priority (TSP) and bus group communicationsystems (e.g. voice/video) expected to be developed for publictransportation. In this paper, we propose, design, and implementa Transit Signal Control and Communication System (TSCCS)for use in real-life IEEE 802.11p/1609 On-Board Units (OBUs).As this TSCCS can reduces bus travel time and number of stopssignificantly by employing a transit signal priority algorithm. Thereduction in bus travel times can be achieved by proper use oftraffic lights. The TSCCS can also track bus group members’locations and broadcast voice/video amongst a cruising vehiclegroup, enhancing driver and passenger experience. Theperformance of the developed TSCCS was evaluated in fieldtrials. Our initial experiment results profile the performance ofthe TSCCS in a small-scale real-life network, with heuristics fordesigning a large-scale vehicular application then suggested. Thedata presented here may provide a basic understanding forfuture advanced studies in this area.