MTA Adding Ticket Cameras On NYC City Buses

By FrumNews.com 

The MTA announced on Monday the activation of Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) on 14 bus routes across Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx.

This allows city buses with cameras the ability to issue tickets to cars blocking bus lanes and bus stops. This program will launch this week, with drivers getting a 60-day warning period before the fines begin.

The MTA said that first-time offenders will be fined $50, with the price escalating to $250 for repeat offenses.

The MTA claims that “When enforcement cameras are activated, on average, routes see bus lane speeds increased by 5%, a 20% reduction in collisions, and a 5% to 10% estimated reduction in emissions.”

Bus routes currently enforced with ACE cameras:

• B44 SBS (which runs in Crown Heights, Flatbush, Midwood and Williamsburg)
• B46 SBS (which runs in Crown Heights and Williamsburg)
• B62 (Which runs in Williamsburg)
• Bx12 SBS
• Bx19
• Bx41 SBS
• Bx36
• M14 SBS
• M15 SBS
• M23 SBS
• M34 SBS
• Q44 SBS (Which runs in Kew Gardens Hills and Flushing)
• Q54 (Which runs in Kew Gardens and Williamsburg)
• Q58

Recently, the NYC Sanitation Department pushed to add cameras to street sweepers to further crack down on alternate-side parking violators.

“ACE is key to getting buses running faster and safer for the riders who rely on them to get where they need to go,” said NYCT Interim President Demetrius Crichlow. “I’m grateful for the dedicated efforts from our partners at the New York City DOT to work with us to get this done.”

***

While such action is good, it ignores the City’s failure to properly enforce street parking of abandoned vehicles with no plates or fraudulent paper plates in front of crime-ridden buildings in the city. Instead of wasting resources on these bills, the City should use its resources to tow away those abandoned vehicles, instead of going after ordinary tax-paying citizens who don’t have anywhere to park their cars because all their legal parking spots are taken by abandoned vehicles.

These efforts will not affect the thousands of abandoned vehicles and cars with counterfeit paper plates currently occupying our city’s street parking spaces, causing dirty and unpleasant streets. As well the abandoned vehicles take away parking from legal vehicles that have nowhere to park, causing many to park/stop in a bus lane…