Buses on two more Manhattan routes will be equipped with cameras to catch bad drivers starting tomorrow, the MTA announced Thursday.
Beginning Friday, July 18, on the M2 and M4 bus routes in Manhattan, vehicles improperly using busways and bus lanes, blocking bus stops, or illegally double-parked will receive summonses.
The announcement comes as the 60-day warning period about the fines ends on Wednesday. Fines start at $50 but can be as much as $250 for repeat offenders.
The two routes are in addition to 37 others using camera enforcement throughout the city. The MTA said more than 1,200 buses are now Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) equipped, covering 510 miles of routes in the city.
The agency touts big benefits of ACE for bus riders. Though the average speed of buses in NYC is 8 mph, routes that use ACE on average have increased speeds by 5% with some corridors seeing gains as high as 30%, the MTA said.
“These routes have also experienced a 20% reduction in collisions; and 5% to 10% estimated reduction in emissions,” according to an MTA press release. “There has also been a 40% reduction in bus stops being blocked by vehicles on ACE routes. Only 9% of drivers commit more than two bus lane violations after being fined.”
The ACE program is administered in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and the NYC Department of Finance (NYCDOF). Once automatically captured by cameras on multiple buses, the resulting video, images, license plate information, location, and time stamp details are sent to DOT for review by city employees and processing thereafter, the MTA explained.
ACE launched in 2024, after state legislation was authorized in 2019 to allow camera enforcement on dedicated bus lanes. It expanded in 2023 to include double parking and illegally parked vehicles at bus stops.Streets that use ACE are marked with signs indicating that the bus routes use the technology. More information is at mta.info/ace.
