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Committee advances bill allowing NJ Transit to use onboard cameras to cite obstructive parking after vendor pilot results
Summary
The committee released AB 56‑12 to let NJ Transit deploy bus‑mounted camera systems to detect and enforce parking that obstructs bus stops and bike lanes; testimony from Hayden AI reported a pilot detecting 19 obstructions per hour and cited reductions in collisions and illegal parking in other cities. Members raised questions about human review, privacy, local enforcement, and ticket contesting.
The Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee advanced AB 56‑12 on May 8, a bill authorizing New Jersey Transit to use onboard camera systems on select buses to enforce parking violations that obstruct bus service or bicycle lanes.
Sponsor Chairman Clinton Calabrese told the committee the bill aims to improve safety and reliability by keeping bus stops and adjacent bike lanes clear. He said the measure includes privacy protections, limits on data retention, a 60‑day warning period, prohibitions on biometric surveillance, and a process for contesting citations; net revenues after administrative costs would be reinvested into Access Link.
Dan Katz, testifying for Hayden AI, described a proof‑of‑concept pilot on Route 126 (Hoboken and parts of Jersey City). "The buses picked up 19 obstructions per hour," Katz said, adding the pilot found about 13 obstructions at bus stops and six in bike lanes per hour. Katz said similar programs in other cities saw collisions drop by roughly 20% and illegal parking at bus stops fall by about 40% within a year.
Katz emphasized that the system provides automated detections that are then reviewed by a human: "There's always a human in the loop," he said. He also said the camera records only while the bus is present, that evidence packages are prepared by the vendor, and that enforcement agencies (not the vendor) perform any license‑plate lookups. Katz said the system self‑tests every 15 minutes and will not collect evidence while failing those checks.
Committee members raised concerns about whether NJ Transit security or local police could perform enforcement instead of automated monitoring, how ticket notices are delivered (Katz said notices mailed on agency letterhead), how many tickets are contested in other jurisdictions, and whether the revenue flow and enforcement process should be handled locally. Some members expressed privacy and fraud worries; the bill includes enumerated defenses (school bus, emergency vehicle, medical emergency, stolen vehicle, funeral, and similar exclusions) and a contesting process.
On the motion to release, members recorded mixed votes and abstentions on the record; the committee voted to release AB 56‑12 for further consideration. Members said they would continue to work with the Senate sponsor and stakeholders on technical changes.
