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In New York, you can get a ticket for improperly operating a vehicle in a bus lane. These tickets are firmly supported by state and local laws and come with some serious penalties. This article will help you understand everything there is to know about bus lane tickets in NY and what you can do to beat them in court.

What Is a Bus Lane?

Bus lanes are traffic lanes designated specifically for buses. These lanes are typically signaled by both signage and markings. Thanks to the red-painted pavement and big, bold “BUS ONLY” markings, these lanes are almost impossible to mistake for ordinary traffic lanes.

The Purpose of Bus Lanes

Bus lanes are designed to improve public transportation systems in the state (mainly the crowded streets of New York City). If other drivers stand in one of those lanes, they could impede the safe operation of that public transportation system and prevent passengers who depend on it from getting around it.

Bus Lane Laws in New York

In New York, it is illegal for drivers of vehicles other than public buses to drive, park, or stand in a bus lane during that lane’s designated hours. Those designated hours can vary from county to county. However, most bus lanes in New York City are active from 7:00-10:00 a.m. and 2:00-7:00 p.m. on weekdays.

Bus Lane Tickets

Like some other kinds of tickets, it does not matter whether you are caught by a police officer or a camera. If either a police officer or a camera catches you violating one of the state’s bus lane laws, the Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) or Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) can issue a bus lane ticket.

Another important thing to know is that there are two kinds of bus lane tickets in New York: one is a moving violation and one is a parking ticket.

Moving Violation

This is the kind of ticket that you’ll receive if you’re caught driving in a bus lane during unlawful hours. Moving violations are considered more serious violations in every state in the country and therefore come with more serious consequences, which we’ll talk about later. 

Parking Ticket

This is the kind of ticket that you’ll receive if you’re caught stopping, standing, or parking in a bus lane during unlawful hours. Parking violations are much less serious than moving violations and often carry significantly reduced fines in comparison.

What Are the Penalties for a NYC Bus Lane Ticket?

As we mentioned earlier, the penalties for bus lane tickets in New York vary depending on which type of ticket it is. But the penalties also vary depending on which county your ticket is from. Here are the penalties for bus lane violations in New York City:

Fines

The minimum fine for a bus lane ticket in New York City is $115. However, the court has the ability to increase that by roughly another 30%, up to a total of $150. This fine must be paid to the TVB within 30 days of your conviction.

Points

Points are part of a system that the state of New York uses to keep track of routine offenders in the traffic court system. Think of points on your license like points in golf: you want to get as few as possible. Get more than 12 points in an 18-month period and the court could suspend your driver license.

For bus lane tickets in New York City, you can get up to two points added to your record. However, that only applies to the moving violation version of these tickets. For non-moving versions of this ticket, a conviction will not result in any points being added to your record.

Surcharges

Surcharges are fees that only apply after the conviction has been rendered. Unfortunately, that often means you won’t know they’re coming until the end of your case, a fact that’s led to these costs being called “hidden fees” quite often. In New York City, the surcharge for a bus lane moving violation is $88. In other parts of the state, the surcharge can be as much as $93.

Driver Responsibility Assessment (DRA) Fee

The DRA Fee is a fee that applies to certain drivers who earn six or more points on their license at any one time. These points can be from different violations or from the same violation. The sixth point on your record costs $300 and each additional point costs $75.

Auto Insurance Increase

Any moving violation a court convicts you of will appear on your official driving record. Insurance investigators have access to what’s called the “abstract” of those records in the state of New York. That enables them to view the last four years of your driving history, including any convictions. Oftentimes, those convictions will result in them increasing your annual premiums.

How much your insurance increases will depend on a number of factors, such as:

• Your age.
• Your driving history.
• Your income level.

Although the amount of the increase may vary, one thing remains constant: You will face this increased insurance cost for around four years.

Defenses to a NYC Bus Lane Ticket

One of the most common defenses to NYC bus lane tickets stems from the mention of “temporarily” and “expeditiously” in the law. These terms apply to how long a person is permitted to drive in a bus lane in order to drop off or pick up passengers. However, there’s no concrete definition of what either of these terms mean in the eyes of the law.

Rather than having to prove that you were in the lane for less than a set amount of time, what you have to prove is that you were only in the lane “temporarily” while picking up or dropping off a passenger. This exception to the rule might be grounds to have your ticket dismissed.

However, if you were not picking up or dropping off passengers, this gray area of the law might not apply to your particular situation. But there are plenty of other defenses to NYC bus lane tickets that might work for you. To hear about more of them, contact a lawyer through the WinIt app today.

How Long Do I Have To Dispute a Bus Lane Ticket?

If you receive a bus lane ticket in New York, then you have 30 days to respond to it before facing the risk of late fees and other penalties. This applies to every kind of non-criminal traffic ticket in the state.

Need Help Fighting Your Bus Lane Ticket?

Have you received a bus lane ticket in New York? If so, there’s no need to stress. You might be able to find an expert traffic attorney in your area who can help you plead your case through the WinIt app.

Rather than shelling out hundreds of dollars in fines, fees, and other penalties, download the WinIt app today and win your case with WinIt.