AI cameras on buses will ticket Chesterfield drivers
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Every school bus in Chesterfield County is getting an AI-powered camera.
Why it matters: The cameras are there to catch drivers who don't stop for the school bus — and will automatically issue violators a $250 fine after a 30-day grace period.
State of play: Chesterfield is adding the cameras to its fleet of nearly 700 buses in an effort to combat what the school district describes as "reckless driving behavior."
- In a one-day survey conducted in March, Chesterfield bus drivers reported 384 instances of drivers illegally passing stopped school buses.
- The effort follows the launch of speed enforcement cameras in Chesterfield and Richmond school zones.
Zoom in: Chesterfield's new camera initiative is a partnership between county schools, police and BusPatrol, a Virginia-based, public safety-focused software company that uses AI to detect drivers who don't stop when the bus' arm is extended.
- BusPatrol runs similar programs in around 500 school districts nationwide, including Richmond Public Schools since 2017.
- The company covers the upfront cost to launch the program, which will run around $7 million in total for Chesterfield, BusPatrol's senior VP Ryan Monell tells Axios.
- Chesterfield will pay BusPatrol a monthly fee of $225 per bus (around $157,500 total a month) and $65 out of every ticket, which should be covered by fines, he says. The county will keep the rest.
How it works: BusPatrol uses a proprietary AI engine, AVA, to detect when the bus stops and extends its arm, then starts recording potential violators.
- Those images, plus vehicle data that BusPatrol runs through the DMV, are sent to Chesterfield Police for their review, and a ticket is issued if a violation is found.
Yes, but: Violations flagged by the software often don't result in a ticket after a police review, per media reports.
- Last year, Richmond police only validated 71% of the violations it received from BusPatrol, WTVR reported. In 2023, it was 57%.
Meanwhile, class action lawsuits filed in Miami and New York allege that BusPatrol issues unwarranted tickets and/or that alleged violators were never granted a court date to contest their ticket.
- Miami-Dade Public Schools has suspended and launched an independent investigation into its BusPatrol program this year.
- Monell says loopholes in Florida law that have since been closed, plus an increase in ticketing volume due to camera enforcement, seemed to delay court hearings in that state, but that BusPatrol believes due process is a critical part of their program.
- He also underscored that BusPatrol doesn't issue tickets.
What's next: Chesterfield's bus-arm cameras will start issuing fines on Oct. 13.
- The county also recently added more speed enforcement cameras at local schools, including Manchester middle and high, Matoaca and Meadowbrook. The 30-day warning period for those ends Sept. 20.
Axios Miami's Sommer Brugal contributed to this report.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Richmond police validated 57% of BusPatrol violations in 2023 (not 2024). It's also been updated to clarify that violations flagged by the BusPatrol software often don't result in a ticket after a police review.