In New York, on-board cameras on buses are being used to identify and fine motorists committing offenses nearby. — MTA
In the United States, several major cities are benefiting from an intelligent system for fluidifying bus traffic. In these locations, artificial intelligence is being used to detect and penalise cars driving or parking in bus lanes.
Several major US cities are working with Californian startup Hayden AI to put an end to bus lanes being blocked by badly parked vehicles. Thanks to on-board cameras, offenders can be identified and punished, significantly improving the quality of public transport journeys.
It's a technological response to a recurring problem: other vehicles occupying the space dedicated to buses, often extending journey times and accumulating delays. In some cases, bus stops are even obstructed, which can be dangerous when passengers board or alight.
The solution proposed by Hayden AI consists of placing cameras behind the buses' windshields, enabling automatic detection of obstructing vehicles. When this happens, a 10-second video sequence and a photo of the offending vehicle's license plate are recorded. This data is then sent to a platform where human agents validate or reject the infringements before issuing the corresponding fines.
This system is already in operation in Los Angeles and Washington DC. It is also in use in New York, where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) recently announced a new monitoring program deployed on 14 bus routes across the city, in the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The program is designed not only to record vehicles that violate bus lane rules in real time, but also those that double-park or park at bus stops.
By the end of 2024, more than 1,000 buses in New York have been equipped with this technology. Since 2019, over 438,000 infringement notices have been issued for vehicles driving in bus lanes. In the span of five years, the authorities have noted an average 5% increase in the speed of public transport, as well as a 20% reduction in collisions and an estimated 5-10% drop in CO2 emissions into the air, depending on the neighborhood.
In the longer term, Hayden AI also plans to offer monitoring of other urban infrastructures, such as bicycle paths. – AFP Relaxnews
