Quakertown Community School District’s contract with Bus Patrol is paying off.
The safety program, which equips the district’s Levy bus fleet with mounted cameras to capture driver violations, netted $49,880 in its latest monthly report with 305 violations.
About one-third of revenue from tickets goes to the district with the remainder to Bus Patrol, local police and a student safety program. A district spokesman said the district does not pay the company’s monthly $11,000-plus technology fee.
The current hotspot for busts is Route 309, an ugly, strip-mall-saturated thoroughfare that bisects the district. Cameras recorded 231 violations there, with passing vehicles the main offense.
Remarking on the findings at the Jan. 12 board meeting, director Todd Hippauf said it was sad to see so many tickets issued, but he was hopeful the crackdown would lead to a reduction. Indeed, the company claims on its website that 98 percent of motorists don’t receive a second ticket.
Board member Ron Jackson attributed some of the violations to motorists not recognizing they have to stop when a bus is stationary on the southbound side of the four-lane highway. Director Chris Spear challenged that, stating ignorance of the law was never an excuse. “It’s an expensive lesson, but a lesson you’ll only have to learn once,” he quipped.
The program is not without its critics. Former Board President Jonathan Kern, one of two members who voted against the five-year agreement, called the fines “another form of school tax.”
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
