BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's been more than six months since the enforcement of the City of Buffalo's school bus stop arm camera program began.
As we approach the end of the school year, we're checking back in to see how it's going.
27,467 tickets have been mailed out, according to Bus Patrol, the company running the camera program.
"I've actually seen a great difference," said Latrice Martin, Director of Kidz Zone Childcare Center. "We still have some hiccups where some cars do try to beat the stop sign opening, but for the most part, it is a huge difference, very satisfied."
A closer look at the numbers
Bus patrol says drivers are changing their behavior, with violations going down 40%.
- October-December: 16,818 tickets were mailed (about 5,606 monthly)
- January-April: 12,031 tickets were mailed (about 3,008 monthly)
And if you're caught passing a bus, the fine is $250 for the first violation.
"Unfortunately, it takes one ticket to give you that wake-up call," said Martin.
$250 fines for thousands of drivers sounds like a lot of money for the city (more than $6 million if you do the math), but I found out that there are thousands of these tickets being thrown out.
"From what we've seen so far, it's about 60% of tickets have been upheld," said Ryan Monell, Senior Vice President of Bus Patrol. "But others have been dismissed based on a different variety of factors, someone can make their case."
But when I brought that number to Octavio Villegas, Buffalo Traffic Violations Executive Director, he pushed back on that.
"I wanna say those numbers for the City of Buffalo are a little bit more different," said Villegas. "I think we've been holding those more accountable."
He claims the number is actually 88%. Still, millions of dollars for the city.
I asked Villegas for his response to those who might think this is a cash grab for the city.
"What we're trying to do is complete what the state would like to see happen," said Villegas. "As part of the legislation that came out in 2019, we've adopted it here in Buffalo, you'll see it also in Niagara Falls and Cheektowaga."
Both Bus Patrol and the city told me they review the footage and said it's important drivers have due process within this program.
Which area sees the most tickets?
On that, Bus Patrol and the city agree: Main Street. Especially at the East Amherst intersection, which is right where Latrice Martin's daycare is.
"Obviously folks want to keep kids safe, but distracted driving is the biggest culprit, I think, of why we see so many violations," said Monell.
Martin said it's busy all day with cars flying down the four-lane section of road.
"We've put signs out there and even police vehicles to try to help us in this program," said Villegas.
Martin said she hasn't noticed an increased police presence, but would appreciate that added help.
"In due time, hopefully everybody will just continue to do better," said Martin.
