LATEST MYNORTHWEST LOCAL AND PACIFIC NORTHWEST NEWS

Drivers caught illegally in Seattle bus lanes over 100K times in 2022

Mar 21, 2023, 4:35 PM | Updated: 4:54 pm

bus lanes...

(Photo courtesy of SDOT)

(Photo courtesy of SDOT)

A new camera pilot program in Seattle caught drivers illegally using Seattle bus lanes approximately 110,000 times in the last year, according to Axios Seattle.

The cameras captured the most bus-lane violations at Aurora Avenue North and Galer Street. Third Avenue and James Street came in second.

Axios reported transit-only lanes are for buses to navigate routes seamlessly when traffic is heavy, but buses can’t do that if a large number of drivers clog the restricted lane.

State Route 109 near Ocean Shores to close for three weeks

The infraction costs $75 and generated around $825,000 in revenue last year. The funds partially paid for the cameras while the rest went to SDOT. Fortunately, the infraction does not go on a driver’s record.

Installing the cameras began in 2020, when Seattle launched a pilot program to use said automated traffic cameras to catch bus lane drivers.

More from Micki Gamez: Local transit agency has its own version of March Madness

Lastly, the city of Seattle is supposed to write a final report and send it to Olympia in 2025 about how the temporary program is working. So far it appears to be doing it’s job!

Follow Micki Gamez on Twitter or email her here.

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Drivers caught illegally in Seattle bus lanes over 100K times in 2022