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Fines Starts This Friday: Another Crown Heights Bus Line Gets Automated Camera Enforcement

B15 bus stopped at a light at Ralph Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. Credit: Tdorante10/Wikimedia

Update: the MTA will start ticketing drivers after a 60-day warning period on the B15 route, with fines up to $250 • Read More

Update: the MTA will start ticketing drivers after a 60-day warning period on the B15 route.

Beginning Friday, June 12, on the M31 and B15 bus routes, vehicles improperly using busways and bus lanes, blocking bus stops, or illegally double-parking will receive summonses starting at $50 and escalating to $250 for repeat violators.

By Chabadinfo reporter

Another MTA bus line, the B15, which serves northern Crown Heights, will receive Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) after a 60-day warning period that began on Monday, April 13. Thereafter, it will ticket drivers for traffic violations along its route.

The B15 has a zigzag route in northern Crown Heights, runs along S. Johns Pl, Bergen and Dean St, before turning onto Albany and Troy Ave. East of the shechuna, it runs on Buffalo and Ralph Ave. It also serves Bed-Sty, Brownsville, East New York, Lindenwood and JFK airport (for $3, it’s the cheapest way to get to JFK from 770, when combined with a transfer from the 3 train).

Even if you don’t drive in the area, the B15 runs along Linden Blvd and North and South Conduit Ave, which are major arteries between Brooklyn and Queens. If you ever drive to the Ohel or JFK Airport, you will likely drive by the B15 bus.

Last month, Chabadinfo broke the news that the B12—which serves a different part of Crown Heights—got cameras and is in the 60-day warning period.

“Vehicles improperly using busways and bus lanes, blocking bus stops, or illegally double-parked will receive warning notices in the mail for an initial period of 60 days followed by summonses thereafter,” the MTA warns.

Each corridor with an active ACE has signage indicating that the route is camera-enforced. Summonses start at $50 and escalate to $250 for repeat violators.

The B12 and B15 are the third and fourth Crown Heights bus lines, respectively, to get cameras to ticket drivers that block bus lanes or double Park along the line, after the B44 on Nostrand and B46 on Utica Ave—both of which have bus lanes and are SBS services. Other bus lines that serve the areas around Crown Heights include the B25 (Fulton St), B26 (Halsey St / Fulton St), B35, B35 LTD (Church Av) and the B82-SBS (Kings Hwy).

In 2023, Chabadinfo reported exclusively that the MTA is planning to add a proposed B10 limited-service route connecting Broadway Junction and Crown Heights, with buses also running along Empire Blvd and ENY.

The B15 route was announced alongside the M31 in Manhattan, bringing the total number of currently enforced routes to 58. “More than 1,600 buses are now ACE-equipped, covering 560 miles of routes and benefiting over one million customers on an average weekday,” according to the MTA.

“ACE enables bus service to run faster, safer, and more reliably for riders,” the MTA claims. “When combined with dedicated bus lanes and street upgrades, [it] has helped improve bus speeds across the full length of ACE-enabled routes, with some segments on ACE routes achieving gains of nearly 30%.” The MTA also claims a reduction of collisions and emissions: “These routes have also experienced a 20% reduction in collisions, and 5% to 10% estimated reduction in emissions.”

MTA map of the B15 bus line: