The use of artificial intelligence (AI) cameras on buses to ticket vehicles parked in prohibited areas is a concerning technology that has gained an increasingly important and unproven place in our lives. Los Angeles is now investing $11 million to install 100 AI cameras on buses. This plan is expected to start this summer and will be completed by the end of the year. Los Angeles Metro, the organization that operates LA’s city buses, insists that it is conducting community outreach to ensure the public is aware of the purpose, timing, and impacts of the program, but as someone who lives on one of the bus routes slated to get AI cameras, I haven’t heard a peep.
When cameras are installed, there will be a 60-day notice interval for drivers, which will include citations for any violators who are caught on camera blocking bus lanes or stops in addition to actual tickets, according to LA Metro. This method of educating the public about the upcoming crackdowns appears to be a consciously hopeless plan that will keep most residents uninformed about the agency’s execution. If LA Metro actually wanted to inform people about the new procedures, it could send an email or text to let them know that new, stricter rules will be put in place.
Hayden AI, a secretive AI firm, is the creator of the program, which is earning $11 million from the deal with Los Angeles Metro. Hayden AI claims the implementation of its devices and software may increase ridership, improve vehicle times, and address mobility issues. Monitors will be mounted inside Metro bus windshields and will continuously scan for parked cars that are illegally in transit, but according to Hayden AI’s general development officer Charles Territo, it will only keep track of potential violations when one is seen. The Los Angeles Times reports that, “If the bus is moving and there’s no vehicle parked in the lane, it’s not recording any data,” Territo said. Only when the system notices a vehicle improperly parked in a bus lane or stop does it record the license plate and report the incident on video.
When a tracking is made, it will be submitted to the L.A. Department of Transportation, where a human will determine whether a citation may be issued.
In 2021, mobile imaging was made legal to enforce parking fines. According to the law, videos that don’t involve parking violations must be deleted within 15 days. Six weeks or 60 days after the citation’s last attitude may be kept in any case of a parking violation.
The $11 million contract LA Metro has signed with Hayden AI in December 2023, and it is expected to last about five years. When cars block bus stops, it creates mobility problems for users with disabilities, and cars blocking bus lanes delay services. Addressing these offenses should improve LA’s extremely poor public transportation system, which is a great thing, but LA Metro should work more closely with the public to ensure they are informed about the new enforcement strategies.
