SEPTA, PPA and the City announced plans last week to start ramping up bus lane enforcement in Center City. As you may have noticed, Chestnut St. in Center City is shining bright with some new red painted “Bus Only Lanes” but despite the paint, the city is still finding drivers parking in the red lanes. Along with Chestnut St. there are bus only lanes on Market St. and JFK Blvd. In order to help reduce congestion and increase bus efficiency, PPA and SEPTA have announced a new bus lane enforcement program.
SEPTA’s Andrew Busch said they had problems with cars blocking the crucial arteries before the COVID-19 pandemic, and as more and more workers return to the city, it’s ramping back up. WHYY
The goal of the program is not to give out tickets but instead educate drivers about why not to block the lane. “Just get people into better habits with how they’re traveling on these roads,” said Busch.
This definitely creates an opportunity to ramp up enforcement in other parts of the city as well. Besides the Bus only lanes in Center City, neighbors all over the city have also complained about drivers parking in bus stops. Inquirer. One way for SEPTA and PPA to reduce cars in Bus Lanes and at Bus Stops is to use camera enforcement, an option the city has been considering since before the pandemic.
Reducing cars around intersections and at bus stops can help make SEPTA buses more efficient and make our intersections safer for pedestrians and bike riders.
The bus lane enforcement program kicked off on Monday, September 26th. Read more via the Inquirer