The MTA inked a $141 million contract on Tuesday to install cameras on thousands of buses that automatically ticket drivers illegally parked along their routes — which officials said will speed up service for riders across the city.
The deal expands an MTA pilot program that since 2019 has allowed for cameras on roughly 600 buses to issue parking tickets, but only to drivers parked in bus lanes. The new technology scales up that program, and allows the equipment to also ticket any driver double parked along bus routes without bus lanes, as well as cars illegally parked in front of bus stops.
MTA officials said they plan to have the cameras on roughly 1,000 buses by the end of the year. In three years, the MTA plans to have the tech on roughly 2,000 buses — more than a third of its entire fleet.
“Our hope is we probably won’t get to the entire fleet because that’s probably unnecessary to change behavior,” New York City Transit President Richard Davey said on Tuesday. “But over the next couple of years we’ll see how this improves bus speeds.”
MTA officials said the older bus cameras issued 328,000 tickets since 2019 — and speeds have increased roughly 5% on routes with the technology.
Drivers will only face a fine if they’re caught blocking a bus route or stop for more than five minutes. For that to work, two buses equipped with the cameras will need to pass the same illegally parked car.
Drivers will face a $50 fine the first time they’re caught by one of the cameras. The penalty climbs to $250 if they’re caught five or more times in a 12-month period.
The cameras are allowed to ticket more cars due to state legislation passed last year. But the expanded enforcement is also still part of a pilot program that will only run through 2028 unless it’s renewed.
“Automated camera enforcement is a huge advance toward the fast, reliable bus service New Yorkers need and deserve,” Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein wrote in a statement. “More than 2 million riders every day are stuck on the slowest buses in the nation. Double parking is an enormous obstacle to better buses. Thanks to last year’s state budget, double parkers are on notice that bus routes are for bus riders not car storage.”
The city and MTA have not yet announced which routes will have the new cameras.