Transportation
In San Francisco, Buses Become the Police
After a successful pilot program, the entire fleet will soon be equipped with cameras to ticket cars that block transit-only traffic.
For transit-only lanes to operate effectively within a city, they must remain clear for the next transit vehicle. But many drivers, frustrated with the crowding of the car lanes, drift into a roomy transit one out of either ignorance or contempt. The problem requires a lot of manpower to enforce, and therefore often goes unenforced.
The result is lost time and money for the transit agency, which in turn can lead to service cuts or higher fares and less confidence in public transit.