East Side Select Service Bus Lanes Now Camera Enforced

The MTA is very serious about you taking their new SBS M15 Bus Service Lanes seriously. They don't want you parking your cars or your bikes or you butts in the lane, and they don't want you driving in it (except to make immediate right turns). Today, they announced that camera enforcement of the Service Lanes along First and Second avenues will formally begin this Monday. And it'll come with a stiff penalty: any unauthorized use of the bus lanes is subject to a $115 ticket. The MTA has also begun a charm offensive online, putting up banners ads which read, “Riding the bus costs $2.25. Driving in the bus lane costs $115. Bus lanes will now be camera-enforced." So you have till this Monday to doing something really transgressive in the bus lane unencumbered by the watchful eye of Big Brother.

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By Ben Yakas in News on November 18, 2010 6:16 PM

Comments [rss]

yuggi

Does this mean that they will be ticketing cyclists for using the bus lane or just cars?

JacqueMehoff

What exactly do they mean by "camera enforcement"?

DEFIANTROA

They have a picture of your license plate in front of the camera, so they enforce you pay the fine or they will towed your car away if you do not. That is the re-enforcement!!!

luke*

Finally! We are entering civilization. Cry me a river about looking for parking. Aren't these cameras on the actual busses? Try this: look in your rear view mirror. If you see a bus, get out of the way.

I know how hard it is to use these newfangled "mirrors," as well as the latest in turn signal technology, since I am so often almost killed while cycling through the city because drivers don't know how to use them.

eveostay

Also, car drivers frequently have their lanes blocked by other cars. What can be done about this?

m015094

Don't drive.

iloveveggies

I don't think this is a bad idea since it will help people who live on the east side have better public transportation. However, as a cyclist, I have to admit, I'm jealous that the MTA and the police would be so diligent about making sure that bus lane stays empty when bike lanes are constantly blocked by everything under the sun.. I'm also jealous that this bus runs all the way to 125th street whereas the bike lane runs only to 34th Street..

jnguy

I agree. They should have a program where you can nominate cars to be ticketed via camera phone photos submitted via mms.

Rover

Agreed. And I am not biking in the middle of First or Second Avenue-- or even worse in the far left lane-- near the entrances to the Queensboro Bridge or the Midtown Tunnel. Those are the two areas most in need of bike lanes.

hashedz

This is another money grab by the MTA/NYC to fill coffers on the backs of NYC citizens and workers. The right turn issue is a real safety problem if not made from the right most (bus) lane. I can see drivers getting fined for simply trying to get into the bus lane early to avoid problems making right turns.

What about folks looking for a parking spot on 1st avenue whom need to cross the bus lane in order to get into said spot? I can see plenty of fines for simply waiting for a car to exit a spot as another is waiting in the bus lane to grab it.

You can see it now--loads of folks getting fined for no good reason other than going about their business in the correct manner.

Automocar

Boo hoo. Taking your expensive, polluting, land-hogging PRIVATE vehicle into Manhattan should be as painful as possible.

Take the train like everyone else.

imperialnetwork

There are no parking spaces to the right of the bus lane on First Avenue (parking is now on the left side of the street only, near the bike lane).

Second, right turns aren't a safety problem. You can get in the right lane for the next right turn, which is usually a full two blocks before the turn, and, given that the lane will generally be open since it is just for buses, this shouldn't be a problem.

So, in short, this is not "another money grab by the MTA/NYC to fill coffers on the backs of NYC citizens and workers." To the contrary, it is a well thought out, long-overdue method of vastly improving bus service-- a method that has been successfully implemented in cities across the country and around the world.

hashedz

REPLY FAIL to both StedyRuckus & imperialnetwork

Do your due diligence before calling someone out on their posts.

I can't speak for the entirety of 1st ave., but in the mid to upper teens there are muni-meters all over the place, and the parking spaces I speak of are indeed to the right of the bus lanes. You can't exactly have folks looking for legal parking by slowing down, and waiting for a spot to empty in the lane to the left of the bus lane. That is definitely be a safety hazard.

As for your argument about making right turns easily, maybe in fantasy land that's true, but not when there are parked cars, taxi relief stands, and buses all thrown into the mix. I am all for trying to do the right thing and waiting until the last moment to move to the bus lane to make my right turns, but sometimes you need to be in them a bit longer than the MTA/NYC cameras may allow. Without knowing the details of what exactly will garner fines I am sure outraged drivers will be chiming in soon!

imperialnetwork

Stand corrected-- I'm thinking of parts of 2nd Avenue. The map below shows what I am talking about:

http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/corridor_map.jpg

imperialnetwork

One more note, this is the current configuration (the previous post was somewhat out of date):

http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/first-second_corridor.pdf

StedyRuckus

+1

uptownnyc

About there being no parking spaces on the right side of 1st Avenue ... that's just not true. In the 80's there are still parking spots on the right side of the street in addition to the bus lane.