ALMOST 4,000 drivers were hit with parking tickets after experimental AI cameras wrongly determined they had been blocking bus lanes. Officials say the cameras were not properly programmed for the routes they were covering, leading to the embarrassing mix-up.
The artificial intelligence cameras were launched earlier this year on certain buses in New York City, with plans to have more than 1,020 buses installed by the end of the year and a further 1,000 by next year. The scheme is costing the city a staggering $83 million, with Hayden AI taking the contract.
But the cameras have so far mistakenly ticketed around 3,800 cars, reports NBC New York. Of those, nearly 900 were legally parked, with many drivers even receiving photos supposedly showing their infractions which ended up proving they had done nothing wrong. The MTA, which manages buses in the Big Apple, says that a human reviews each citation made by the AI cameras.
A human spokesperson told the outlet that the cameras weren’t properly programmed for the routes they monitored. On one route, the cameras misidentified parked cars, and on another, they issued citations where full enforcement hadn’t begun yet. The MTA has now fixed the software issue that caused the mistaken citations and says the scheme has resulted in a 5% increase in bus speeds.
More than 293,000 vehicles have been caught illegally blocking bus lanes this year, a 570% increase over 2021, with the city’s revenue from bus lane fines rising from $4.3 million to $20.9 million. Despite the issues, the MTA defends the scheme, saying it is necessary to prevent congestion on the city’s roads.