Both Los Angeles and Chicago have announced pilot programs to use camera technology attached to vehicles to monitor the status of bicycle and bus lanes, and send a citation to the drivers of vehicles blocking them.
“This is fantastic. It’s a long time coming,” Eli Lipmen, executive director of Move LA, a transit advocacy group in Los Angeles, said at the October 2023 meeting of the L.A. Metro Board, when the agreement with technology provider Hayden AI was approved.
The technology will allow the enforcement of bus lanes, “so that the buses do not have to move out of the bus lane, back into traffic, to be able to reach the destination,” Lipmen said. “That’s going to create reliability for bus riders. They know when their bus is going to come, and that they can actually get to the destination.”
Chicago is adopting the Smart Streets Pilot program, which will use similar camera and license plate reading technology from Trellint to enforce regulations in bike and bus lanes. It will run for two years, with the aim of better understanding what sorts of vehicles are blocking travel lanes and offering officials insights into mitigating the problem, said Nefsa'Hyatt Brown, deputy press secretary in the office of Mayor Brandon Johnson. The pilot will equip eight city vehicles with the Trellint technology, and migrate it to city buses traveling “priority routes” next year.
“By keeping bus and bike lanes clear of illegal parking, we can ensure that Chicago’s growing network of dedicated bus and bike lanes are operating at their full potential, improving safety while also reducing delays for commuters and improving orderly traffic flow,” Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Carney, said in a statement. “This pilot program is a critical step in making our streets more efficient, accessible and safe for everyone.”
Enforcement in both programs will start with issuing warnings to drivers who are cited. In Los Angeles, the program, which was set to begin Nov. 1, will issue warnings through the end of the year. Violators will be fined $293, after the warning period is over, and a second offense will cost $406, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. In Chicago, warnings will be issued for 30 days after the program’s launch Monday, Brown said via email.
“A vehicle owner — based on the license plate — may receive multiple warnings during this warning period,” Brown said. “On day 31 — Dec. 5 — vehicle owners will receive a single warning and then an actual ticket and fine for any violations after that.”
The first ticket will not be issued until the driver has received the second offense, since the first offense results in a warning, she said. Fines for blocking a bus lane in Chicago have been set at $90, with a late penalty that is also $90. Blocking a bike lane results in a $250 fine, with no late penalty.
In Los Angeles, cameras equipped with artificial intelligence have been installed on 50 buses servicing Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, two of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. The technology uses two cameras installed behind the bus windshield. One camera scans the lanes for vehicles blocking the roadway, while the other records the license plate, according to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority documents. More cameras will be installed on buses serving the Silver Line in Phase II, which will be launched at a later date.
“Our goal is to get our riders where they need to be safely, comfortably and on time, and bus lane enforcement is key to realizing that goal,” Stephanie Wiggins, L.A. Metro CEO, said in a statement, noting more than 800,000 people ride buses in the Metro coverage area and “deserve fast and reliable transit service.”
L.A. Metro first began exploring the use of camera technology for bus lane enforcement several years ago, but ran into obstacles related to privacy concerns, and state laws prohibiting the agency and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation from moving forward with the program. Currently, video data showing a violation during the warning period will be stored for six months, then destroyed. Video data that does not lead to a violation will be destroyed after 15 days, according to L.A. Metro.
There are some 40 miles of bus priority lanes in Los Angeles, including on Wilshire Boulevard, where officials have documented more than 800 lane blockage violations in a single month. Reports have shown similar enforcement steps taken by other cities like Washington, D.C., and New York City have resulted in bus speeds more than 30 percent faster, according to L.A. Metro documents.
“There’s a reason transit agencies from across the country are partnering with us,” Chris Carson, CEO and founder of Hayden AI, said in a statement. “Our technology makes public transit faster, more reliable, safer and efficient. We’re excited to help deliver high-quality transit service for Angelenos.”
