B46 Route Camera Enforcement Starts Tomorrow, Fines For Real In 60 Days

On the heels of launching bus-mounted camera enforcement along B44 last year, MTA announced today that they will be rolling it out for B46 as well.

The new bus-mounted cameras on the B46 Select Bus Service route will begin enforcement on Feb. 20, 2020, MTA says, which is the official start date of the 60 day grace period for drivers who violate the rules, after which the agencies will begin collecting fines.

B46 is the busiest route in Brooklyn, MTA says, serving about 35,000 daily weekday bus riders along eight miles of dedicated bus lanes along Broadway, Malcolm X Blvd, Utica Avenue, and Flatbush Avenue.  The North-South route connects Kings Plaza with Williamsburg and allows for easy transfers between five subway lines and 30 bus routes.

“We recognize our current and potential customers desires to speed up the bus system, and continue to use the lessons learned from the M14 busway, namely well enforced bus priority, as the key to achieving a world class bus system that customers choose as their preferred transportation. The ABLE system truly makes bus lanes for buses,” said Craig Cipriano, Acting MTA Bus Company President and Senior Vice President for Buses.

The Automated Bus Land Enforcement (ABLE) camera system does not make obstacles disappear, unlike their ads suggest, but captures evidence such as license plate information, photos and videos, as well as location and timestamp of vehicles obstructing bus lanes to document bus lane violations.

Drivers are allowed to enter bus lanes to make turns, but those who remain in a bus lane without exiting at the first possible right turn, or they are captured as blocking the bus lane by two successive buses, will be ticketed.

The fines are as follows: $50 for the first violation, and for additional violations within a 12-month period: $100 for a second offense, $150 for a third offense, $200 for a fourth offense; and $250 for a fifth violation and each subsequent offense thereafter within a 12-month period.