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in other recent news, the Alameda County Transit system has enabled "AI" cameras on busses, that will auto-generate violations for civilian vehicles in the bus

in other recent news, the Alameda County Transit system has enabled "AI" cameras on busses, that will auto-generate violations for civilian vehicles in the bus stop, in the new fast transit dedicated lanes, and who knows where else. In previous times, Alameda County special officers would issue $500 tickets for letting a passenger out of a private vehicle within a bus stop area. In case you don't know, the bus stops are everywhere, and often are large in busy downtown areas. The joke was that these special officers wore gold braids on their uniform, not to mark seniority, but to mark the amount of money generated !! Witnesses saw four or more tickets given out like that in one hour in a busy downtown area, on a certain day more than ten years ago. To be blunt, tickets of that value, generated automatically for common violations, is a money printing machine. Alameda County Transit in California cannot be the only ones implementing this across the US and elsewhere.

bobthepanda 2y ago
the point of the cameras, to some degree, is to make the common violations stop happening. you don't really have a right to pull over anywhere you want in 'a busy downtown area'.
- potato3732842 2y ago
  That's not really a compelling argument in a reality in which we allow people to just stop at the end of merge ramps because "whoops, poor/no planning".
  - bobthepanda 2y ago
    Does one illegal or bad thing make another illegal thing okay? Why bother having any sort of laws or enforcement?
- BobaFloutist 2y ago
  That's true, though I would argue that, especially around regional transit hubs, at least some number of parking spaces should be converted to pickup/drop-off spaces (3/5/10 minute parking). It's inane how hard it is to find a legal place to drop people off at some BART stations, and surely it's worth sacrificing some small number of parking spots for?
  - trogdor 2y ago
    >It's inane how hard it is to find a legal place to drop people off at some BART stations Can’t you drop a passenger off at a fire hydrant? “CHAPTER 9. Stopping, Standing, and Parking 22514 No person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle within 15 feet of a fire hydrant except as follows: (a) If the vehicle is attended by a licensed driver who is seated in the front seat and who can immediately move such vehicle in case of necessity.”
    - BobaFloutist 2y ago
      Huh TIL
MarkSweep 2y ago
Just don’t park in a bus stop. It’s not that hard. We have so many parking spaces dedicated for vehicles there is no excuse in Alameda County. Other comments in this thread complain about the difficulty of finding a legal place to drop people off at a BART station. That has not been my experience: the three Alameda county BART stations I’m most familiar with (Hayward, Fremont, and Warm Springs) all have passenger drop off zones and giant parking lots.

bobthepanda 2y ago

the point of the cameras, to some degree, is to make the common violations stop happening. you don't really have a right to pull over anywhere you want in 'a busy downtown area'.

potato3732842 2y ago
That's not really a compelling argument in a reality in which we allow people to just stop at the end of merge ramps because "whoops, poor/no planning".
- bobthepanda 2y ago
  Does one illegal or bad thing make another illegal thing okay? Why bother having any sort of laws or enforcement?
BobaFloutist 2y ago
That's true, though I would argue that, especially around regional transit hubs, at least some number of parking spaces should be converted to pickup/drop-off spaces (3/5/10 minute parking). It's inane how hard it is to find a legal place to drop people off at some BART stations, and surely it's worth sacrificing some small number of parking spots for?
- trogdor 2y ago
  >It's inane how hard it is to find a legal place to drop people off at some BART stations Can’t you drop a passenger off at a fire hydrant? “CHAPTER 9. Stopping, Standing, and Parking 22514 No person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle within 15 feet of a fire hydrant except as follows: (a) If the vehicle is attended by a licensed driver who is seated in the front seat and who can immediately move such vehicle in case of necessity.”
  - BobaFloutist 2y ago
    Huh TIL

MarkSweep 2y ago

Just don’t park in a bus stop. It’s not that hard. We have so many parking spaces dedicated for vehicles there is no excuse in Alameda County. Other comments in this thread complain about the difficulty of finding a legal place to drop people off at a BART station. That has not been my experience: the three Alameda county BART stations I’m most familiar with (Hayward, Fremont, and Warm Springs) all have passenger drop off zones and giant parking lots.