QUEENS — Smile, you're on camera.
Drivers caught using the Q44 Select Bus's lane on traffic enforcement cameras may be hit with a $115 fine starting Monday, the city’s Department of Transportation announced.
For the past 2 months, the DOT has issued warnings to drivers photographed driving or standing in the bus lanes during designated hours, but beginning March 7, the agency will start issuing violations and fines.
In general, the bus lanes on the Q44 SBS route are in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, according to the DOT, although the rules may vary at some locations, depending on whether the lanes are against the curb or one lane away from the curb, the agency said.
The corridors, according to the DOT, have signage indicating the specific hours in which the cameras will be in enforcement.
The route, which serves about 42,000 riders on a daily basis, links The Bronx and Queens along several subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road.
It also offers a direct connection between two of the busiest commercial neighborhoods in Queens — Flushing and Jamaica.
Hoping to decrease commuting time between the two areas, the city launched Select Bus Service as well as bus lanes on the Q44 last fall.
Bus lanes have only been implemented on Sutphin Boulevard, Archer Avenue and Hillside Avenue in downtown Jamaica and on Main Street between Northern Boulevard and Reeves Avenue in downtown Flushing.
They have not been installed along the rest of the Select Bus Service route after local residents opposed them.
Violations will be issued against the vehicle, not the driver, and points won't not deducted from motorists’ licenses, the agency said.
