MBTA to install cameras to crack down on cars blocking bus lanes and bus stops
The MBTA said they're going to install cameras on buses to crack down on drivers blocking bus lanes and bus stops in Boston.
Gov. Maura Healey said she would sign the two bills that would allow the MBTA and school buses to install the cameras. After the bills are signed, the program would launch later this year.
Violators face fines
According to one bill, first-time violators could get just a warning but a second offense could be a ticket that costs anywhere between $25 and $125 for stopping or parking in MBTA bus lanes. Parking at a bus stop could result in a $100 fine.
The MBTA will first test the cameras first on a portion of Brighton Avenue, a small stretch between the North End and West End, Sullivan Square in Charlestown, a few blocks of Saint James Avenue in the Back Bay, a stretch of Columbus Avenue between Jamaica Plain and Roxbury and portions of Huntington Avenue and Washington Street.
School bus cameras
The second bill allows school buses to install cameras to look for cars and other vehicles that don't stop for stopped school buses. School committees themselves would decide whether to install the cameras. The bill also requires that any camera footage that doesn't identify violations must be destroyed within 30 days unless ordered by a court not to.
Boylston Street bus lane removed
Earlier this year, the city of Boston decided to remove a controversial bus lane on Boylston Street. The bus lane was put in temporarily in 2022 during the Orange Line shutdown and was permanently installed in July 2024 but the city got numerous complaints saying it was causing traffic backups and cut down on available parking spaces.
