The purpose of the measure is unanimously agreed upon: protecting schoolchildren against inattentive or reckless drivers. But the revenue share from the approved technology has been perceived as a money grab for the city of Buffalo — prompting reminders of the short-lived school zone speed cameras a few years ago — with additional concerns that hefty fines might heighten inequity in a poor city.
"If people say it's a money grab, I say it's about our children," said David A. Rivera, Niagara Council member, when the Common Council discussed a now-official partnership with camera vendor BusPatrol on Sept. 12.
The Buffalo School Board on Nov. 15 approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among the city of Buffalo, the school district and its transportation partner to allow BusPatrol to install outward-facing cameras on all school buses to catch drivers completing the illegal maneuver. The Common Council approved the contract 7-1 on Sept. 19. State law dictates that first-time violations lead to a $250 fine.
"The use of stop-arm cameras will go a long way toward enforcing existing traffic laws that require motorists to stop for school buses that have stopped to let students board or disembark," said Jeffrey Hammond, Buffalo Schools' spokesperson.
State statistics show that drivers frequently disobey bus stop signs — which extend from the side of the bus when amber warning lights flash and then the door is opened — with an estimated 50,000 New York drivers guilty each day. Officials believe it's common in Buffalo, too, and aside from instances in which a police car is nearby, violators are rarely caught.
In 2019, the city of Buffalo selected BusPatrol America, a Virginia tech company, to install a system of cameras on every First Student school bus in the city to automatically snap images of license plates of vehicles whose drivers pass a bus with stop lights flashing and arm extended. BusPatrol developed an artificial intelligence system called AVA, which its leaders say is "11 percent better than a human being at detecting stop sign violations." The Covid-19 pandemic, however, slowed progress on the project.
Video of an infraction is reviewed by a local law enforcement official, then confirmed to the tech company, which mails notices of violations on the city's behalf. Vehicle owners may appeal the citation, which provides details such as registration information, time and location of the violation, and directions for how to appeal.
Not everyone was thrilled by the partnership. Rasheed N.C. Wyatt was the lone Council member to vote against the bus cameras, fearing the city might appoint a program manager to drive up revenue. Council President Darius G. Pridgen, who voted in favor of BusPatrol, was initially concerned the program might increase inequities.
"If it's perceived to be only in poor neighborhoods, then it will be a problem," Pridgen said.
The city will determine the start date for the bus cameras; the contract allows up to six months for equipment to be installed. BusPatrol has committed to an awareness campaign and a warning program that does not fine offenders for the first 30 days after cameras are installed.
"Communities are best receptive to a change in enforcement when they get a little bit of a grace period," BusPatrol representative Steve Randazzo told the Council in September.
Randazzo said the system is effective in reducing violations and discouraging repeat offenders. Because AI technology will be on every school bus and identifies vehicle license plates, Randazzo said, it does not prey on the poor and does not discriminate.
"The secret sauce to changing behavior is that anywhere in the city of Buffalo where someone passes a school bus and endangers a child's life, they are held accountable," Randazzo said.
The program is of no cost to the city of Buffalo or the school district. BusPatrol installs and operates the camera systems, pays for a city employee to manage the program, and troubleshoots problems — all using money collected from fines paid by violators. The safety company receives roughly 60 percent of the revenue, while the city of Buffalo receives 40 percent.
In the MOU's draft, the city was guaranteed a minimum of $2.5 million in the program's first year, even if its revenue share percentage did not reach that level. That amount was predicated on the previous size of Buffalo's bus fleet, which was 634 when the MOU was drafted.
Because First Student now operates about 470 buses to transport prekindergarten through eighth-grade students, Buffalo's revenue minimum falls to roughly $1.8 million proportionally. Buffalo high school students use public transportation.
Neither Buffalo Schools nor First Student, its transportation partner, receives any revenue, but they also cannot be held liable, the MOU reads. Photographs taken by the bus cameras cannot be used in any disciplinary proceeding prompted by the school district or First Student, according to the MOU.
North Tonawanda and Niagara Falls school districts already partner with BusPatrol, while Erie County briefly considered a partnership in 2021.
Suffolk County on Long Island equipped about 5,000 of its buses with BusPatrol stop-arm cameras beginning in 2021. According to a county report, the program reduced violations significantly: For the first four months — September through December of 2021 — there were 517 violations per day, which decreased to 317 violations per day in 2022.
Program revenue for noncontested violations in 2022 was $14.8 million, the report said, which was split roughly equally between the county and BusPatrol. An agreement between BusPatrol and Suffolk County said the county was required to spend its revenue share toward school safety measures.
The School Board approved the resolution 7-0, with Board President Sharon Belton-Cottman abstaining and Terrance Heard excused due to an illness. Belton-Cottman said she was not against transportation safety measures but was frustrated by the school district's financial history with the city.
"Moving forward, I believe that our school district, our children, should be appreciated a little bit more and since this is an income-generating item for the city, I think that the city needs to have conversations with us about making sure the money we receive is increased every year, that we receive some benefits from our money being held in reserves by the city, and that we make sure Buffalo Public Schools gets what it's entitled to in addition to what it's been receiving — the same money for the last 20 years, except for one year," she said.
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