Six CTA buses will soon enhance city's efforts to ticket drivers for blocking bus, bike lanes
The CTA board on Wednesday approved a nearly $316,000 contract to Hayden AI for the Automated Bus Lane Enforcement systems that will be installed on buses later this year.
'Keeping bus lanes and bus stops clear is essential to ensuring that CTA buses can move efficiently and riders can board safely,' said Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Carney. 'The addition of enforcement cameras on CTA buses will complement the City's existing efforts and give us more data to evaluate and build on best practices.'
The enforcement effort began in November in the area bound by North Avenue, Lake Michigan, Roosevelt Road and Ashland Avenue. Violators were issued warnings for the first month. Beginning December 5, drivers received a warning for a first offense with subsequent violations resulting in fines ranging from $90 for blocking bus lanes to $250 for blocking a bike lane.
Through the end of February, cameras attached to eight city vehicles resulted in more than 11,000 warnings and nearly 1,400 violations being issued, according to a CTA release.
Nov. 2024 | Chicago to begin automatic ticketing of bus, bike lane blockers
Under the contract, Hayden AI's cameras will identify and record violations. The firm, not CTA, will then manually review them before sending them to the city for a final judgement and the issuance of a ticket.
The company's technology is already used by several transit agencies, including the New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the CTA said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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