SFMTA plans to implement $15.6 million in upgrades to its red bus lane ticketing program, which consists of two officers manually reviewing video footage and issuing around 20 citations per day. The new system is expected to help them generate about 100 per day.
As KQED reports, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency voted Tuesday to implement a series of upgrades to its existing Transit-Only Lane Enforcement (TOLE) program, which launched in 2008 and equipped buses with forward-facing cameras to collect footage of bus lane violations to be analyzed later. Due to staffing limitations, there are currently only two designated parking control officers who analyze this footage, according to an SFMTA staff report, per KQED.
The new project, titled “Next Generation Transit Lane and Bus Stop Enforcement System,” will add new innovations to the existing system, including “real-time data transmission, automated license plate readers and violation detection, as well as GPS mounted on buses to automatically generate evidence packages,” per KQED.
Per NBC Bay Area, SFMTA expects the new system to generate a 500% increase in citations, from 20 to about 100 per day. SFMTA is currently seeking proposals (PDF) for the project, and it expects to choose a contractor in the spring of 2026.
KQED notes the system will be implemented in stages. SFMTA will first run it as a pilot program on two of its buses, which will be expanded to 210 additional buses if approved. The agency could also potentially deploy the system on its new fleet of around 600 New Flyer buses at a later date, upon city approval.
SFMTA estimates the total cost for the initial three-year term of the project will be $15,639,776, with potential for three additional one-year terms, per KQED. A Caltrans grant will cover $2.5 million in installation costs, and the agency anticipates that fines generated by the TOLE program will pay for the remaining costs.
“It will be self-funding, so it would not draw down the agency's capital or operating resources,” SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum said, per NBC Bay Area.
Per KQED, SFMTA says the TOLE program is credited with improving travel times and reducing injuries on city streets. “Transit lanes are an essential tool to keep Muni moving on San Francisco’s busy streets as traffic congestion increases. Parking in bus lanes is both a safety issue and impedes Muni’s reliability,” says Erica Kato, Chief Spokesperson for SFMTA, per KQED.
The agency also says the program is effective at keeping drivers from repeating the offense again. “While an initial increase in citations is expected, the long-term goal is a reduction in violations as awareness and compliance improve,” says SFMTA’s report, per KQED.
Image: Muni Forward/SFMTA
