New York adopts bus lane cameras

Right: Video traffic cameras in New York will enforce bus lanes and identify those types of vehicles that are the worst bus lane violators

New York City is set to enforce its new bus lanes on 34th street using three video cameras installed by the side of the road. The cameras will be installed in a six-month trial aimed at preventing the city’s taxis from ignoring traffic laws that only permit them to enter a bus lane in order to make the next right turn or to quickly pick-up or drop-off passengers.

Cab owners face fines of up to US$150 for misusing the bus lane.

“Our efforts to improve traffic conditions and increase mobility are needed perhaps nowhere more urgently than in Midtown Manhattan,” says Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s Department of Transportation Commissioner. “Cameras offer us a powerful new tool to keep the network from breaking down and causing gridlock on 34th Street and across Midtown.”

Sadik-Khan says the city will continue to seek state support to allow it to expand its red-light camera and bus lane camera networks. It will also use the bus lane cameras to identify which types of vehicles are the worst bus lane violators.
 

24 February 2009