Bucharest buses to be equipped with dashboard cameras for better traffic surveillance

A new project by local authorities in Bucharest could have all overground public transport vehicles managed by the Bucharest Transport Company, or STB, equipped with dashboard cameras for better traffic surveillance and to catch drivers who use the lanes dedicated exclusively to buses.

The images with the license plates recorded by the new cameras would be forwarded to the police, which would fine the offending drivers. However, existing legislation does not yet allow for sanctions to be issued based on such video proof.

The new project is expected to come into force by the end of the year.

Roughly 700 out of the 1,200 vehicles of the Bucharest Transport Company already have dashboard cameras, and the rest will be equipped by the end of the year, says the project initiator, deputy mayor Stelian Bujduveanu. He argues that this measure will help to streamline public transport.

"Definitely, by the end of the year, all vehicles must be equipped with cameras as is the case all over the world, it is part of the digitalization plan of public transport, and in a short period, we are talking about the approval of the existing cameras, it should come into force within a month. We need to do tests, to see how the system works together with the Local Police," announced Stelian Bujduveanu, cited by Euronews.

He also mentioned that there are only 40 Local Police employees who work in shifts and who should handle the traffic.

"I think that it is easier to install a camera on public transport, on the vehicle that circulates, and then send all this information to the Local Police, rather than to place a police crew there, in the intersection. We will go hybrid: both on public transport and on the street side, intersections, and the whole integrated camera system," Bujduveanu told Digi24.

Drivers who drive on lanes dedicated to local public transport can be fined up to RON 1,320 (EUR 265). The mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, said he supports the project.

(Photo source: Vlad Ispas | Dreamstime.com)