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SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) has received the prestigious Gold Award for Bus Safety from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) for its innovative Bus Stop Enforcement Program—a technology-driven initiative that is improving safety, accessibility, and transit reliability across the region.
Launched in partnership with the City of Sacramento, the program uses an AI-powered camera technology provided by Hayden AI to detect and document vehicles illegally parked in bus stops. This first-of-its-kind program in the Sacramento region helps keep bus zones clear, allowing operators to safely access curbs and provide secure, reliable boarding for all passengers, especially those with mobility challenges.
“SacRT is honored to be recognized by APTA with the Gold Award for Bus Safety,” said Henry Li, SacRT General Manager/CEO. “This award reflects our unwavering commitment to innovation, safety, and delivering a better experience for our riders. By keeping bus stops clear, we’re enhancing accessibility and helping ensure every ride is safe, smooth and on time.”
The need for the program became clear during a 70-day pilot in summer 2023 on two of SacRT’s busiest downtown routes—Routes 30 and 51, which recorded 286 violations of vehicles blocking bus stops. During the warning period, more than 2,740 warnings were issued to vehicles obstructing bus stops. The program is now fully operational, with 100 SacRT buses equipped with front-facing AI cameras. Citations with fines were issued starting Tuesday, February 18, 2025, and in just the first month, 2,370 citations were issued.
How It Works:
When a vehicle is illegally parked within a bus stop zone (60 feet before and 30 feet
after the stop, the bus-mounted camera system captures a short video, a photo of the vehicle’s license plate, and the time and location. Duncan Solutions provides violation processing software. The data is transmitted to the City of Sacramento for citation processing.
The program operates under the authority of Assembly Bill 917 (AB 917), which allows California Transit agencies to use forward-facing cameras to enforce parking restrictions in transit-only lanes and designated transit zones.
What’s Next:
Building on the program’s success, enforcement was recently extended to bike lanes. As of April 14, 2025, warning notices will be issued to vehicles blocking bike lanes, with citations to follow beginning June 13, 2025.
“The City of Sacramento is proud to partner with SacRT on this groundbreaking program that’s improving safety and accessibility in our community,” said Staci Hovermale, Parking Manager, City of Sacramento. “By leveraging innovative technology and data-driven enforcement, we’re creating safer streets for everyone, especially for those who rely on transit most. This national recognition underscores what’s possible when cities and transit agencies work together to deliver real, lasting impact for residents.”
“We are proud that SacRT and the City of Sacramento are using our bus-mounted computer vision technology to make bus stops safe and accessible for everyone. This Gold Award is a testament to Sacramento’s leadership in advancing technology to solve long-standing problems and improve safety and bus service for riders,” said Charley Territo, Chief Growth Officer of Hayden AI.
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to collaborate with our long-standing partners at the City of Sacramento, along with our new partners at SacRT and Hayden AI, to reduce parking violations at bus stops,” said James Kennedy, President/CEO, Duncan Solutions, LLC. “We are thrilled to witness SacRT receiving commendations at the highest levels of the public transportation industry for effectively using technology to address these hazardous parking violations.”
Sacramento now joins cities like Oakland, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and New York City in deploying automated enforcement through bus-mounted camera systems.
The APTA Gold Award was presented at the 2025 APTA Mobility Conference, where top transit agencies are recognized for excellence in safety, innovation, and rider experience.
To learn more about the program at sacrt.com/safebusstop.