SEPTA bus program using camera to find illegally parked cars

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A SEPTA pilot program is using bus-mounted cameras to automatically detect cars illegally parked in bus lanes, and the effort has already turned up thousands of potential offenders.

Police or the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) can already ticket cars parked in bus lanes, but the program could be a precursor to automated enforcement.

Since April 20, SEPTA has had seven cameras mounted on buses on Routes 21 and 42 along Chestnut and Walnut streets. SEPTA project manager Matt Zapson said in this pilot, the cameras see and identify vehicles parked in bus-only lanes.

"It's really looking to test how the system works at night, in bad weather, in heavy traffic. And to give us a better idea of the magnitude of the problem and where it's happening," he said.

A Econsult Solutions study shows Center City congestion causes 1.7 million hours of passenger delays each year. So far in the 60-day pilot, Zapson said 2,300 cars were seen parked in bus lanes and 19,000 cars at bus stops.

However, he doesn't think the stats are that high, as some parked cars may have been seen by multiple cameras.

Right now, Zepson said there's no ticketing or enforcement via the artificial intelligence pilot.

"For the time being, we’re using it really to share with our partners like PPA and the City of Philadelphia where they can increase their own in-person enforcement."

Actual automated enforcement, he said, would require legislation at the city and state level.