Camera enforcement of the First and Second Avenue bus lanes began today. To mark the occasion, State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh held a press conference gathering together community leaders and taxi drivers to get the message out to drivers: Block the lane and face the fine. As Squadron and Kavanagh explained, however, drivers may enter the bus lanes to turn right or to quickly drop off or pick up passengers.

Hopefully, starting up camera enforcement will keep the bus lanes clear and allow the East Side’s Select Bus Service to run even more smoothly. Even before the cameras were turned on, the introduction of Select Bus Service had cut trip times by between 12 and 16 minutes compared to the old limited service. That’s an improvement of between 14 and 19 percent.

Said Kavanagh in a press release:

“Almost a year ago, we called on the City and the MTA to implement a true Bus Rapid Transit system along First and Second Avenues.  We’re not quite there yet, but new enforcement mechanisms like bus cameras and clarification of the rules for taxi drivers and other car users should help get us one step closer to the full transit potential of our streetscape.”