Drivers, beware. Your vehicle will likely be on camera if you break bus lane laws in NYC.
The MTA said on Monday that four more bus routes in Queens and the Bronx will start using automated camera enforcement (ACE) this month to catch vehicles improperly using busways and bus lanes.
Beginning Nov. 13 on the Q6, Bx20, Bx3 and Bx7 bus routes, vehicles improperly using busways and bus lanes, blocking bus stops or illegally double parked will be fined.
Fines start at $50 but can be as much as $250 for repeat offenders.
These additional bus lines total 47 routes that are currently enforced with ACE. More than 1,400 buses are now ACE-equipped. They cover 545 miles of routes that serve around 840,000 daily bus riders.
The MTA said the agency uses camera technology in part to get buses moving faster in the Big Apple, a city where buses move an average of 8 mph. Routes that use ACE have seen bus speeds increase by 5%, with some corridors experiencing a travel time jump as high as 30%, according to the MTA.
ACE routes have also experienced a 20% reduction in collisions, and 5% to 10% estimated reduction in emissions, the MTA reports.
During an unrelated press conference on Monday, John McCarthy, chief of policy and external relations at the MTA, doubled down on the importance of keeping bus lanes clear to help ensure speedy bus service.
“The problem is that things are in the way,” he said. “It’s the street, it’s the road, it’s the vehicles blocking buses.”
MTA manages the ACE with the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and the NYC Department of Finance. Once violations are 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 processed thereafter, the MTA explained.
Streets with ACE are marked with signs indicating that the bus routes use cameras.
More information is at mta.info.
