The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is reminding motorists that the Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) program fines became effective on four more bus routes on Thursday, Nov. 13 i.e. on the Q6, Bx20, Bx3 and Bx7 bus routes and vehicles improperly using busways and bus lanes, blocking bus stops, or illegally double parked will receive summonses that start at $50 and escalate to $250 for repeat violators.
The MTA had already activated the new ACE program on the Bx9 and Bx15 bus routes on Nov. 10, starting a 60-day warning period per New York State law. The goal of ACE is to make bus service faster and more reliable by keeping bus lanes and bus stops clear.
MTA officials said these four routes total 47 routes currently enforced under the program, with more than 1,400 buses now ACE-equipped, covering 545 miles of bus routes and benefiting over 840,000 daily customers.
They said bus routes equipped with automated enforcement on average have increased bus speeds by 5% with some corridors seeing gains as high as 30%. They said the bus routes in question have also experienced a 20% reduction in collisions; and a 5% to 10% estimated reduction in emissions. They went on to say that there has also been a 40% reduction in bus stops being blocked by vehicles on ACE bus routes, and that only 12% of citizen and commercial drivers commit more than two bus lane violations after being fined…