Los Angeles DASH buses are about to get a lot more watchful. The City Council voted 13-1 on Wednesday to authorize installing up to 50 cameras on city DASH buses to catch drivers blocking bus lanes, with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation set to flip the system on starting Nov. 1 with 30 buses covering downtown routes A, B, D, E, F and Pico-Union.
The council also approved a resolution designating specific street segments as bus lanes and signed off on LADOT’s updated automated license plate reader use policy. According to NBC Los Angeles, a second phase would add 20 more cameras on buses serving Crenshaw, Panorama City/Van Nuys, Watts and Wilshire Center/Koreatown. Drivers won’t be hit with fines right away — the city plans to issue warnings for the program’s first 60 days.
Councilman John Lee cast the lone dissenting vote, and he didn’t hold back about why. Lee said he had serious concerns about Hayden AI, the contractor LADOT wants to use, accessing city data under a proposed master data license and protection agreement, noting that the city’s current ALPR policy authorizes users — including contractors assisting the city — to access that data. He also said Hayden AI’s founders have faced recent accusations of fraud and espionage, including allegations involving the sharing and distribution of company secrets, adding that those accusations had not appeared to affect Los Angeles residents but merited consideration as the city hammers out its ALPR policy.
A Council Ally Pushes for Broader Data Rules
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez ultimately voted in support of the item, but she didn’t let Lee’s concerns go unanswered. She thanked Lee for highlighting inconsistencies in which city agencies are authorized to use the technology and introduced a motion calling on the city to examine data usage and collection practices across every department. Rodriguez said data-sharing protections should apply uniformly across every city department and contract, not just the DASH camera program. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez was absent for the meeting…