By Forum Staff
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Friday announced four more bus routes will now be equipped with Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE). The 60-day warning period on the Q6, Bx 20, Bx3, and Bx7 bus routes in Queens and the Bronx began on Monday. Vehicles improperly using busways and bus lanes, blocking bus stops, or illegally double parked will receive warning notices in the mail for an initial period of 60 days followed by summonses thereafter. Summonses start at $50 and escalate to $250 for repeat violators.
These four routes are in addition to the 39 routes currently enforced. More than 1,200 buses are now ACE equipped covering 510 miles of routes and benefiting 775,000 daily customers.
Bus routes equipped with automated enforcement on average have increased speeds by 5 percent with some corridors seeing gains as high as 30 percent. These routes have also experienced a 20-percent reduction in collisions; and 5 percent to 10 percent estimated reduction in emissions. There has also been a 40-percent reduction in bus stops being blocked by vehicles on ACE routes. Only 9 percent of drivers commit more than two bus lane violations after being fined.
Photo Courtesy of MTA
Summonses start at $50 and escalate to $250 for repeat violators.
The ACE program is administered in partnership with the City Department of Transportation and the City Department of Finance. Once violations are captured by cameras on multiple buses, the resulting video, images, license plate information, location, and time stamp details are then securely transmitted to NYCDOT for review by City employees and processing thereafter.
Since its launch in June 2024, ACE has expanded from a few select routes to a citywide initiative covering all five boroughs. In just over twelve months, the program has demonstrated measurable success in improving bus speeds, reducing collisions, and keeping bus stops clear, ensuring more reliable service for the daily bus customers.
The Q6 runs between the 168th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica and the JFK Postal Facility. Each corridor with active ACE has signage indicating that those routes are camera-enforced.
