Minnesota awards last of school bus stop arm camera grants
Hundreds more Minnesota school buses will soon be equipped with cameras that will help catch dangerous drivers.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Public Transportation announced on Monday that $1.3 million will be distributed to 18 school districts and transportation companies in the final round of its Stop Arm Camera grants.
Billie Bus Transportation in the Twin Cities metro will be receiving stop arm cameras for 160 buses using the grant, according to the Department of Public Safety. Owatonna Bus Company and United South Central Public Schools are also among the award recipients.
"The safety of our students is our top priority, and this grant allows us to take another important step in protecting them on their way to and from school," Tom Jerome, superintendent of the Roseau school district, said. "These cameras will be installed on 13 buses and will help improve enforcement of traffic laws, ensuring that drivers stop when students are boarding and unloading a Roseau school bus."
Since the program started in 2022, the Office of Public Transportation has awarded more than $15 million in grants toward school bus stop arm cameras, resulting in the technology being placed in 8,000 school buses in the state.
The department says initial results show more than 2,000 school bus stop arm citations were issued across the state of Minnesota last year, thanks in part to the cameras.
Data shows that between 2020 and 2024, more than 1,900 citations were issued in Hennepin County — the most out of any county in the state. During the same time, Wright County saw 365 citations, the county with the second highest number of citations.