BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The city of Bridgeport is one of the first places in the state to put permanent cameras on the outside of school buses. The new program has a goal of keeping students safe by changing driving behavior.
Back in 2012, six Connecticut towns tried this idea, but ultimately took the cameras off due to privacy concerns. Now, a new state law has towns trying again.
“This was a bipartisan bill,” said State Sen. Herron Gaston of Bridgeport, a Democrat who is the chair of the legislature’s Public Safety Committee.
That law, created in Hartford, is now being tested in Bridgeport.
“We're going to install technology on every bus,” said Ryan Monell of Virginia-based company Bus Patrol.
That technology is meant to catch stop arm violations in the act and it already has. 10,000 violations were identified while the program was piloted over the last six months.
“With all of the issues and the tragedy yesterday safety is more important than ever,” said Bridgeport Schools Superintendent Dr. Carmela Levy-David.
“No parent should have to worry about their child from the moment they step out onto a school bus,” added Mayor Joe Ganim.
The city is partnering with Bus Patrol to outfit all 258 school buses with state of the art cameras that automatically record once that stop arm extends. The technology will assist law enforcement.
“This is going to be an all hands on deck initiative,” said Police Chief Roderick Porter.
Once a violator is identified, that footage is saved to a digital cloud where it’s reviewed by artificial intelligence and then two humans at Bus Patrol. An evidence packet is then created and sent to the city. They decide whether to issue a ticket.
“This is a game changer,” said Gaston. “All of the proceeds from the tickets are going to stay in the local municipality.”
James Coby, who has been a Bridgeport bus driver for 10 years, said not only are drivers distracted, but they’re impatient.
“When you are driving that big yellow bus they say I have to get ahead of that because that driver is going to stop me,” said Coby.
Not everyone thinks the cameras are a good idea. The ACLU of CT has long opposed the program.
In a statement, Executive Director David McGuire said, in part, “…school buses should not be de facto sites for unchecked police surveillance…There are significant due process, privacy and even racial justice threats that can end up undermining public safety…”
Bus Patrol said it costs about $6,000 per bus to have the cameras installed but ultimately that all gets paid for through the revenue generated from tickets. They said they take privacy seriously and only store video for about 48 hours.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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