A new camera pilot program in Seattle caught drivers illegally using Seattle bus lanes approximately 110,000 times in the last year, according to Axios Seattle.
The cameras captured the most bus-lane violations at Aurora Avenue North and Galer Street. Third Avenue and James Street came in second.
Axios reported transit-only lanes are for buses to navigate routes seamlessly when traffic is heavy, but buses can’t do that if a large number of drivers clog the restricted lane.
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The infraction costs $75 and generated around $825,000 in revenue last year. The funds partially paid for the cameras while the rest went to SDOT. Fortunately, the infraction does not go on a driver’s record.
Installing the cameras began in 2020, when Seattle launched a pilot program to use said automated traffic cameras to catch bus lane drivers.
Axios reported on warnings for bus lane violations, but not blocking the box. With a low absolute number of tickets, you might think the cameras just aren’t in good locations. But the data shows that most people blocking the box just aren’t doing it a second time. pic.twitter.com/eBSAqal4cw
— Ryan Packer (@typewriteralley) March 21, 2023
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Lastly, the city of Seattle is supposed to write a final report and send it to Olympia in 2025 about how the temporary program is working. So far it appears to be doing it’s job!
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