Our Bus Lane Enforcement (BLE) program started November 1: Here’s what you need to know  

UPDATE, JUNE 20: Beginning Tuesday, July 1, 2025, motorists who illegally park in bus lanes or at bus stops along N. La Brea Avenue in the city of West Hollywood in both directions of travel (northbound and southbound) – from Fountain Avenue at the north to Romaine Street at the south – will receive notices by mail warning that future violations will be subject to fines. Effective Tuesday, September 2, 2025, violators will face a penalty starting at $293 for illegally parking in designated bus lanes, helping to ensure buses can travel without obstruction and reduce delays for passengers.

UPDATE: Metro and LADOT are extending the warning period for the Bus Lanes enforcement on La Brea Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard until February 17, 2025. Citations begin on Feb. 17.

On November 1, we launched the first phase of our bus lane enforcement pilot program, a partnership between Metro and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) to improve bus service by detecting parking violations on bus lanes and at bus stops.  

Here’s how it works:  

• We’ve installed forward-facing cameras behind the windshields of 50 Metro buses to detect parking violations. In the first phase of this program, we’re focusing on Line 212 on La Brea Avenue and 720 on Wilshire Boulevard. Both lines have been hampered due to parking violators in the bus priority lanes. 

• When the camera system identifies a vehicle parked in a bus lane or at a bus stop, it creates an “evidence package” of video, photographs, license plate information, and the time and location where the incident occurred.  

• The evidence package is the only information that the camera system records. This package is then reviewed by LADOT, where traffic officers will verify the images and license plates to determine whether a citation should be issued to the vehicle’s owner.  

As mentioned above, we are currently in the first phase of the program –– when warning notices will be issued for parking violations in bus lanes serving Lines 212 and 720.   

In early 2025, we plan to launch the second phase of the program, where LADOT will begin issuing warning notices on Lines 70, 910, and 950. Citations for violations on these lines will start at a date to be determined — we’ll let everyone know as far in advance as possible. For more information on LADOT’s adjudication process, please visit https://ladotparking.org/contact-us.  

As our ridership continues to grow, we anticipate that the program will make our bus service faster and more reliable for the thousands of people who ride these lines every day. Please note that transit agencies in major cities including San Francisco, Oakland, New York City, Washington DC and Philadelphia also use this technology to help keep bus lanes and bus stops clear.  

Have a question? Comment? Leave a note for us here on The Source or send us an email at ble@metro.net.