SEPTA will start using cameras to ticket vehicles blocking bus lanes, stops
PHILADELPHIA - Drivers caught blocking bus lanes in Philadelphia will soon be ticketed as some SEPTA buses become equipped with ticketing cameras.
The news comes as outgoing Mayor Jim Kenney signed a bill into law Friday allowing the Transit Authority to implement the new program.
SEPTA says vehicles blocking bus lanes and stops across the city are a hindrance to riders and buses - that includes rideshare drivers picking up and dropping off customers.
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Blocked bus lanes are partly responsible for Center City riders sitting in traffic for over 30 hours a year, according to SEPTA, who says it adds $15 million in yearly operations costs.
A 70-day trial run earlier this year found 36,000 instances of cars obstructing bus lanes and stops in Center City, West Philadelphia and Upper Darby.
The cameras will be onboard buses along Bainbridge and Spring Garden streets from river to river, as well as JFK Boulevard, Walnut, Chestnut, and Market streets.
They are expected to be up and running in the next six months, to a year.