Listen 4 min

       Share

       Comment on this story Comment

       Add to your saved stories

       Save

       D.C. is stepping back from a plan to issue $200 tickets to drivers who block the city’s bus lanes, citing concerns that the fine is too high. Enforcement is now expected to kick in early next year — but will start this month for drivers who block bus stops.

       Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. ArrowRight

       The District Department of Transportation is proposing to cut the fine for blocking bus lanes in half and seeking to start enforcement in January. The decision comes nearly two months after DDOT abruptly abandoned a plan to begin issuing tickets in mid-September, saying it was indefinitely extending a warning period to allow more time to educate drivers.

       Interim DDOT director Sharon Kershbaum said Wednesday that the city will continue to give warning notices to people driving or parking in bus lanes until enforcement begins.

       “This is a new violation. We think the extra time for warnings is not a bad thing,” Kershbaum said at a D.C. Council hearing this week focused on traffic safety. “I think this is the right thing to do.”

       Advertisement

       Kershbaum said reducing the fine will make it more consistent with fines issued by traffic cameras, as well as more equitable.

       However, she said, the city is ready to begin issuing tickets to vehicles at bus stops. That enforcement, which comes with a $100 fine, will begin Nov. 15.

       The District and Metro began using cameras on 140 buses in July to issue warnings to motorists who drive, idle or park in bus-only lanes. The plan, which had been in the works for months, originally included fines starting in September of as much as $200.

       Parked at a D.C. bus stop? New cameras could lead to a ticket in the mail.

       City leaders criticized DDOT this fall for delaying enforcement. D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who chairs the panel’s transportation committee, sought answers about why DDOT and Metro made the decision, saying the city had asked the council in May to approve the contract for the bus cameras on an emergency basis.

       Advertisement

       Kershbaum on Wednesday sent Allen a response announcing the plan to begin bus stop enforcement and saying that “more work” needs to be done to enforce the violation on bus lanes. She said the agency believes the $200 fine is “inequitable” and will be issuing proposed regulations to make it equivalent to parking at a bus stop — or $100.

       Share this article Share

       D.C. transit users have long complained about cars and trucks blocking the red-painted bus lanes downtown and in other parts of the city. Cars generally are allowed to enter bus lanes within 40 feet of an intersection or driveway to make a turn or to enter a parking space. Bus lanes are open to bikes, scooters, emergency vehicles and transit vehicles.

       The enforcement strategy, known as Clear Lanes, is a partnership between Metro and DDOT to reduce the number of vehicles blocking bus lanes and bus zones — the areas around bus stops. The city has 12.7 miles of bus lanes.

       Advertisement

       Kershbaum said in the letter that more than 23,000 warning notices have been issued since July, nearly 80 percent of them for vehicles parked at a bus stop.

       At the hearing this week, Allen expressed frustration with the delay and changes to the fine amount, noting that Wednesday was the first time the council had heard that DDOT took issue with the fine. He questioned Kershbaum on possible effects to the city budget from reducing the fine, noting that D.C. approved a budget that included projections of $2.1 million from the program based on fines of $200.

       “You built an entire system and spent millions of dollars on bus priority lanes with this current structure. And now you want to change it,” Allen told Kershbaum. “I don’t really care if it’s $200 or $100. I think that what matters most is the swiftness and the certainty of there being the consequence.”

       Advertisement

       Kershbaum said that the revenue projection was conservative and that she expects the program will still yield the expected amount of revenue.

       DDOT will propose a regulation that requires a 45-day council review period before the fine can be changed, Kershbaum said. If the council expedites that process, she said, the city could begin to issue $100 fines to vehicles violating bus lane rules on Jan. 2.

       More coverage: Air travel, transit, railroads Air travel: Antitrust trial to determine fate of JetBlue-Spirit merger begins

       Transit: Metro board says service cuts are real if funding doesn’t increase

       Commuting: VRE plans new weekend service, fare increases next year

       Safety: Two jets collide at Houston airport after one took off without clearance

       FAA: Senate confirms new administrator, filling a role vacant for 18 months

       Share

       Comments

       Loading...