Goodbye to badly parked cars – new MTA buses will carry this new system to fine those blocking bus lanes in New York City

New York has new traffic rules so… smile! Because starting this October, there will be buses with rear cameras to monitor and record vehicles that block exclusive lanes or park illegally in them. Now, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will not only transport passengers, but also record offenders and issue fines directly from the street.

Yes, now the buses don’t just carry passengers, they also record violators and help issue fines right from the road. And four new routes (Manhattan and the Bronx) will start recording these violations… Stay and read everything because you don’t want to get a notice at home, right?

A system that detects, records, and fines

They have been trying for years to make public transport flow better, and they want to recover some speed on the most congested streets in the country, reminding drivers that public spaces are not private parking lots!

So, the MTA announced that routes Bx22, M96, M116, and Bx2 in Manhattan and the Bronx already have the ACE (Automated Camera Enforcement) surveillance system.

During the first 60 days there will only be warning notices, but after that period, formal fines will start, beginning at 50 dollars and rising up to 250 for repeat offenders.

This brings the total to 43 routes now operating with cameras and raises to over 1,300 the number of buses equipped with the system, covering about 820 kilometers of routes throughout the city.

Less traffic, fewer crashes, fewer emissions

According to the MTA, routes with the ACE system have seen a 5% increase in the average speed of buses, with some corridors reaching up to 30% improvement in travel times.

They also estimate a 20% reduction in accidents and a decrease of between 5 and 10% in polluting emissions.

Not bad, considering that New York City buses move at an average of about 8 km/h…

How the ACE system works

Alright, each bus has a camera that continuously records its surroundings while it moves. When it detects a vehicle invading the bus lane or blocking a stop, the system records the violation with video, images, license plate, time, and exact location.

All this information is sent to the Department of Transportation (DOT), where city employees review each case and process the fine. And be careful, because streets with ACE are marked, so you can’t use the excuse that you didn’t know!

Technology against chaos

The project is managed jointly by the MTA, the DOT, and the city’s Department of Finance, and it aims to modernize urban mobility in the city that never sleeps.

New York has been testing different strategies for years but hasn’t managed to improve much… This is one of the most visible so far, as they’re turning buses into watchdogs. Strange, but maybe necessary.

A city watching itself

Beyond the fines, what’s happening in New York is a change in driving culture, and people need to understand that whoever blocks a bus lane blocks the whole city. It doesn’t matter if it’s for two minutes, have you seen the traffic chaos in this city??

While drivers grumble, public transport users are celebrating. The promise is that buses will arrive sooner, pollute less, and won’t get stuck behind a badly parked car… We’ll see…

MANHATTAN

THE BRONX