Circulate San Diego Recommends Automated Bus Lane and Bus Stop Enforcement

Reducing obstructions makes transit more accessible and improves bus speeds, organization says 

Last week, Circulate San Diego released Fast Bus!, their new report on improving bus service in the San Diego region. One of their key recommendations? Automated bus lane and bus stop enforcement. 

In San Diego, there’s a major time disparity between car commuters and transit commuters: an average driving commute takes 26 minutes, while an average transit commute is a staggering 52 minutes – double the car commute. 

These much longer trips for bus riders have severe costs. Circulate San Diego writes that bus riders have “less time to spend with their families, at school, working, or having fun. Making the bus run faster means giving people their lives back.” 

So, how can San Diego speed up the bus? In addition to running buses more frequently, adjusting fares, and giving buses signal priority, Circulate San Diego recommends that the region establish a network of dedicated bus lanes kept clear from illegally parked cars and trucks with automated enforcement. 

Circulate San Diego writes: 

“Automated enforcement tools can help keep bus-only lanes clear and also keep operations costs by transit agencies lower. Reducing obstructions can reduce dwell times, enhance the safety of all-door boarding, make in-lane bus stops more effective, and generally improve accessibility.” 

Fast Bus! is packed with travel behavior research and best practices for improving bus service quickly and at-scale. We’re thrilled to see Circulate San Diego include automated bus lane enforcement as one of their recommendations – especially now that California has authorized all state transit agencies to use bus-mounted camera systems for automated enforcement of bus lanes and bus stops.