From Richard Chumney, CT Post:
City police have issued more than 20,000 tickets to motorists caught illegally passing school buses since automated cameras were installed on each vehicle last year, officials said.
BusPatrol, the Virginia-based company hired to install the AI-powered cameras and license plate readers, said a total of 20,584 tickets were mailed to drivers between August 2024 and June 13, 2025.
City and school officials have said the safety initiative was created to discourage drivers from endangering children as they travel to and from school. The penalty for a violation is a $250 fine.
“The safety of our students at Bridgeport Public Schools is paramount, and these numbers are deeply troubling,” interim Superintendent Royce Avery said in a statement. “We must ensure motorists understand and comply with school bus safety laws in order to make roads safer for our children as they travel to and from school each day.”
As part of the program, BusPatrol has outfitted each of the district’s 248 buses with a license plate reader and multiple exterior cameras that allow the company to capture footage from nearly every direction.
Full story here
20,584 tickets were mailed to drivers with a potential penalty of $250. Bus Patrol is outfitting the 248 buses with cameras but there is likely one more step which includes what happens to non-responders, who are the people talking with folks who get a ticket and wish to argue their issues, and an overall number of actual fees paid in the same time period of 10.5 months?
Yes, student safety is the motivation for the activity, but Senator Herron informed us of the 20,000 folks who were violating the law before he assisted in bringing attention to it. That does not seem to have decreased to me. Tickets are sent out, camera ready proof of a possible offense is available, why is specific info not available to reporters? Who is paid by the City to handle these issues? Time will tell.
Richard Chummey wrote the story, but as with so much of municipal governance, the full story remains uncovered, in print today, though he may likely have asked enough of the right questions.
I ama aware of a person who ‘got a ticket’ and responded with a ‘ $250 check’. From the ticketed driver to the City by USPS may have taken one week.
Where is that money today within a Department budget? How much has been raised in the time period? How much has been administered and found ‘innocent’ or arguable and non-fineable? Are there other possible outcomes we should know?
If merely half of the offenses have been dealt with and paid there would be $2,500,000 in an account. Why drag your feet in being open, accountable, transparent and honest when questioned about laws, rules, and financial details of revenue and expense? Time will tell.