Q65 and B1/B6 to Become ACE Equipped
60-Day Warning Period Begins Monday, Oct. 12
22 Routes of 25 Activated in 2026 as Part of Fast Buses Plan
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced three additional bus routes will now be equipped with Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE). The 60-day warning period on the Q65 in Queens and B1/B6 bus routes in Brooklyn will begin on Monday, Oct. 12. The goal of the program is to improve bus service by enhancing compliance with existing traffic rules. 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. Once the warning period ends, summonses will start at $50 for the first offense and escalate to $250 for repeat violators.
As outlined in the Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service plan, the MTA is committed to getting buses running faster and more reliably for riders. This comprehensive bus action plan builds on the previous success of the ACE program by promising to expand ACE to an additional 25 routes in 2026 in addition to working with City partners to enhance bus lane enforcement. The Q65 and B1/B6 will bring the total numbers of routes to go live this year to 22.
With the addition of these routes, ACE is now enforced on a total of 76 routes. More than 2,000 buses, or one third of the entire bus fleet, are now ACE equipped, covering approximately 825 route miles and benefiting over one million riders on an average weekday. The Q65 and B1/B6 routes serve a combined weekday ridership of approximately 80,400 riders.
ACE allows buses to run faster, safer, and more reliably. When combined with dedicated bus lanes and street upgrades, the ACE program has helped to improve bus speeds across the full length of ACE-enabled routes, with some segments on ACE routes achieving gains of nearly 30%.
The ACE program is administered in partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and the New York City Department of Finance (NYCDOF). Once violations are captured by cameras on multiple buses, the resulting video, images, license plate information, location, and time stamp details are then securely transmitted to NYCDOT for review by City employees and processing thereafter.
Since its launch in June 2024, ACE has rapidly expanded from a few select routes to a citywide initiative covering all five boroughs. The program has shown measurable success in improving bus speeds, reducing traffic accidents, and keeping bus stops clear – ensuring New Yorkers can get to where they need to go safely and on time.
Each corridor with active ACE has signage indicating that those routes are camera-enforced. Details can be found at mta.info/ace.
Photo: Spyide123 Productions, YouTube
