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City proposes cloud-based camera upgrade for Burlington Urban Service buses to speed evidence access
Summary
Staff proposed outfitting the city’s bus fleet with a cloud-based surveillance system (vendor: REI) at a one-time capital cost of about $31,212 and recurring cellular/licensing costs of about $6,800/year, citing faster footage retrieval, GPS and multiple feeds per vehicle; funding would come from a public works equipment replacement fund.
City staff presented a proposal to replace aging, unsupported on-bus camera systems with a cloud-based surveillance solution from Radio Engineering Industries (REI). The capital cost to outfit the transit fleet was stated at approximately $31,211.60, with an ongoing annual licensing and cellular cost of about $6,800 that staff said would need to be budgeted in future fiscal years and could be drawn from the public works equipment replacement fund ($61,583 fund balance cited).
Staff described operational benefits: live access to multiple camera feeds per bus (front, driver, rear and side cameras depending on bus length), remote evidence retrieval without returning the bus to facility to pull hard drives, GPS location and potential future performance and safety monitoring tied to the GPS and camera data. Councilmembers supported the efficiency and safety arguments.
Staff noted the capital difference over a minimal upgrade is modest and emphasized the benefit of quicker access to footage for incidents. The transcript did not record a final council vote on the purchase; staff said ongoing licensing costs would be included in future budgets.
Next steps: if approved, staff would authorize purchase and plan for installation and future budget adjustments to cover recurring cellular and licensing fees.
