MBTA to start issuing $125 fines for bus lane violations. Here's how they decide who gets a ticket.

In January, the MBTA will start issuing fines for drivers who are caught on camera blocking bus lanes and bus stops in the Boston area. 

So, how does the T decide if you deserve a ticket, and how can you stay out of trouble?

In city traffic, 60-foot buses are not a great fit. But slap a little red paint on the ground that says "Bus Only" then the wheels on the bus go round and round faster.

In Greater Boston, the MBTA now has 40 miles of bus lanes between 7,000 bus stops.  At Tufts Medical Center, WBZ-TV's David Wade jumped on the SL4 to South Station to see the use, and abuse, of bus lanes from the perspective of an MBTA passenger.

That's where he met Macmarian Anibra. She said the bus lanes speed things up until drivers mess things up.

"I was late for an appointment on Saturday. I'm not making this up, just last Saturday. Someone was blocking the lane. The buses were all the way back," said Anibra.

While getting off the bus, Wade saw a box truck parked in a bus lane for 15 minutes. He stuck around to ask the driver if he knew the MBTA will start handing out $125 tickets in January. He didn't respond. This month, the T started sending out warnings.

Ryan Coholan, the MBTA's COO, said, "I think once citations start to go out and people realize that we're committed to this program, I think human behavior might change a little bit."

The MBTA shared video of what bus drivers see every day. Cameras mounted on the buses show cars pulled over, dropping off people, or picking up food.

"Someone orders a beverage on their phone and they want to pull up to the curb to go get that beverage, I get it you want that coffee to be hot," said Coholan, who adds that forces buses to have to merge back in with cars, slowing traffic and sometimes means dropping off passengers in the middle of the road.

The T has had enough.

"At some point, for lack of a better term, you have to rip the band-aid off. You know, the bus lanes have been in place for several years now.  Without rules there's chaos. I think there is hope that people will respect that," said Coholan.

About a third of all MBTA buses will now have special cameras. They're not supposed to record everything. Instead, every bus stop is "geofenced." Basically, that's an invisible boundary set by GPS. The cameras start recording only when they approach those spots.

Alex Hallowell of the MBTA said all video clips marked as a violation will be reviewed by a staff member. 

"They can look at the incident, look at the context and say, 'Oh, that's clearly a police officer responding to an emergency, reject,'" Hallowell explained. "Or, 'Oh, that's clearly someone who just pulled over to grab a Dunkin' Donuts,' and they say approved, right."

The MBTA will then send out a ticket in the mail which drivers can appeal. The agency said all video and personal information from license plates never leaves the MBTA database. It's the same system they use in some Commuter Rail lots to enforce parking fees.

So how do you stay out of trouble?

Here are a few tips: 

• You cannot drive directly down the bus lane unless you're an emergency vehicle or getting out of the way of an emergency vehicle. 
• You may cross over the bus lane to parallel park, but you can't stop in the bus lane. 
• You can also get into the lane for turns, but you can't get over too early. You must wait until dashed lines on the road appear or signs allow it.

But, in a city where space and patience are limited, not everyone is a fan of taking away an extra lane for cars.

"You really want my opinion? My opinion is get rid of them," said a man named David who was stopped at a red light in Brighton. "They're a pain in the rear end!"

The MBTA said it does not share or sell personal information, and photos and videos are deleted after 120 days.  

If you have a question you'd like us to look into, please email questioneverything@cbsboston.com.