Could Grand Rapids City Buses Give You A Parking Ticket In The Future?

A lot of us are probably guilty of parking somewhere we weren't' supposed to. Whether it was a quick illegal park to run inside somewhere, or stealing a spot in lot that isn't yours, it's a pretty common (and mostly harmless) problem.

And up until now, you had to just hope that the parking meter person wasn't around the corner while you broke the rules so you wouldn't get slapped with a fine.

But with new technology that is coming out nationwide, it might not be a human who slaps you with a fine for that illegal parking job.

Thanks to new technology from Hayden AI, certain cities across the US have started to test out having their buses give parking tickets. (Yes, you read that right.)

The technology works by mounting AI powered cameras on the front and sides of city buses, which can capture the license plates of any cars who are parked illegally in bus lanes. The information is then used to send a ticket in the mail to any offenders who are busted parked in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This technology is being tested around the country in cities like Santa Monica, Washington D.C. And, now New York City is officially installing the cameras on their buses for future use.

If you're curious about how accurate they are, according to the developers, the cameras are able to be accurate to within 10 centimeters.

During Santa Monica’s 45-day pilot, the system identified more than 500 potential violations. Which is adding up to great money for the city since each fine is nearly $300 dollars.

While we don't have these cameras currently in Grand Rapids, if these work well in bigger cities, I wouldn't be surprised to see them being used in smaller cities in the years to come. Especially once the technology becomes a little more affordable and easier to access.

What I'd really love to see them used on? Jerks who use that bus only lane on Division during the hours it's active, because that's the most annoying thing on the PLANET.