AI Is Being Tested On Buses In California For Parking Tickets

AI is being sold to us as beneficial, in pretty much every facet of life, which is how you know it’s probably not. Still, it’s not going anywhere, with one of the latest examples being buses in Santa Monica, California, where KTLA reports that AI is being used for cameras on city buses to help issue parking tickets more easily.

The city of Santa Monica and its transit service The Big Blue Bus have been having a problem. While ridership is up with over 7.7 million trips in 2022, buses have been behind schedule because careless drivers keep driving, stopping or outright parking in bus-only transit lanes. It’s been tough on city ticketing officials to keep up. “The question becomes how do we and other cities keep vehicles that should not be in the transit lane out of the lane,” Head of community engagement for Santa Monica Robert McCall told KTLA.

So city and Big Blue Bus officials approached an AI startup called HydenAI for help. The company makes AI-powered cameras specifically for city parking enforcement and already has cities like D.C. and San Francisco using their tech. The tech is some real NSA/Enemy of the State-level stuff.

Two special cameras installed on the windshield capture what’s happening ahead in the bus lane. That information is sent to a computer box installed on the bus, which uses AI to process what’s happening in the photos, flag the cars that are breaking the rules and generate reports cities can use to issue tickets in near real time.

As the buses pass the vehicles, the cameras read and capture the license plate and relay that information back to parking officials so a ticket is generated. HydenAI says that the cameras are accurate up to 10 centimeters and know if a vehicle is moving or stopped. McCall says that the goal of the system is not to issue tickets, but “to change behavior.”

Over a 45-day pilot testing of the system, over 500 citations were issued. Each carries a fine of over $300. While that’s impressive, Santa Monica officials are still deciding whether or not the city will fully implement the tech. So if you’re a driver in Santa Monica and you’re stuck in traffic and thinking about using that bus lane to get around, think twice. The buses might literally be watching you.