Bus Lanes, Busways & ACE Cameras: Rules for TLC Drivers

In short: TLC vehicles get no special right to use NYC bus lanes. Like any car, you may enter a bus lane only to turn right at the next street, to reach a driveway within 200 feet, or to quickly drop off or pick up a passenger. On a busway, you may drive in for local access and pickups but must leave at the next required turn. Bus-mounted ACE cameras ticket bus lane use, bus stop blocking and double parking on bus routes: $50 for the first, rising $50 each time to $250. Camera tickets go to the vehicle's registered owner.

What a bus lane allows

DOT's rule summary: "Unauthorized vehicles may enter a bus lane only to make a right turn at the next city street, to access a curb cut or driveway within 200 feet, or to quickly drop off or pick up passengers" (NYC DOT bus lane rules). The full rule is section 4-12 of the City's traffic rules.

Signs show when each lane is in effect, and lanes are marked "Bus Only" and/or painted red. DOT's camera-corridor signs warn drivers "to keep out of bus lanes, except for allowed right turns and passenger pick-ups or drop offs" (NYC DOT Vision Zero). DOT's practical advice for passenger stops: "If possible, arrange your pick up or drop off where there is no bus lane – across the street, or on the cross street."

Curbside and offset lanes

Some bus lanes run along the curb. Others are offset: one lane away from the curb, with parking or a loading lane between the bus lane and the sidewalk. DOT's advice differs a little for each:

• Curbside lane: you may stop for the moment a passenger standing at the curb gets in or out.
• Offset lane: you may cross it to get to a parking space if you are actively parking, but "please do not block buses by waiting in the lane for someone to leave a parking space – you can get a ticket!" Where there is a curbside right-turn lane before an intersection, DOT says to "merge through the bus lane and use the curbside lane to make their turn, so that they do not block the bus."

Many curbside bus lanes have midday hours when they are not in effect and the normal parking rules apply. The sign on the pole gives the hours.

Busways: hours and access, corridor by corridor

A busway is stricter than a bus lane: during its hours, only buses (and usually trucks and emergency vehicles) may drive the whole length. Other vehicles, "such as taxis and cars, are allowed local access but generally only from side streets, and vehicles must leave the corridor at the next required turn per the posted signage" (NYC DOT Busways).

Two notes. DOT's busway list still marks Tremont Avenue as "planned", but DOT's own Tremont Avenue page says it launched on September 19, 2026. And the 34th Street page describes its rules in the future tense. Check the signs on the street.

On 14th Street, DOT says: "All other vehicles may make local trips to access the curb and garages, but must turn at the next available right," and "Passenger vehicles may drop-off and pickup all along the corridor." Left turns off 14th Street are banned at all times (except MTA buses at signed spots), and from 10 PM to 6 AM all vehicles may drive through (NYC DOT 14th Street).

A busway drop-off, step by step

Say a passenger wants to go to a building on 14th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues at 3 PM, when the busway is in effect. You turn onto 14th Street from an avenue, drive to the building, and let the passenger out at the curb. Then you must leave at the next available right turn, not continue along 14th Street. You may not turn left off 14th Street at any time. After 10 PM, you could drive straight through. The same pattern (enter from a side street, stop, take the next required turn) applies on most busways, but the hours and turn rules differ, so read the signs at the entry. DOT says entries are marked with red paint and "BUS TRUCK ONLY" markings on the newer busways.

ACE: the cameras on the buses

ACE (Automated Camera Enforcement) is "a bus-mounted camera system that issues violations to vehicles occupying bus lanes, double-parked vehicles along bus routes, and vehicles blocking bus stops." MTA, NYC DOT and the NYC Department of Finance run it together (NYC DOT). DOT also runs stationary street-mounted bus lane cameras, which mostly catch driving in bus lanes and busways.

What the MTA says about ACE (MTA ACE, page updated October 12, 2026):

• It tickets vehicles that drive, stand or park in a bus lane; stand or stop in a bus stop, or block access to one; or are double parked along a bus route.
• Fines "start at $50 and increase by $50 for each additional violation received, up to a maximum of $250 per violation."
• "On each ACE bus route, the MTA and City issue warning notices for 60 days before fine-bearing violations begin."
• Quick pickups and drop-offs are allowed; ACE operates on 76 bus routes, with more added over time. The page lists the routes in their warning period.

DOT's busway pages use the same ladder: "a $50 fine for a first violation and up to $250 for the fifth or subsequent violation," and NYPD bus lane moving violations are "$150" (NYC DOT 34th Street).

Who gets the ticket

DOT describes City camera tickets as a Notice of Liability sent to the vehicle's registered owner (NYC DOT Vision Zero). For a TLC driver that matters in two ways:

• If you own the vehicle, the ticket comes to you.
• If you lease or rent it (from a garage, a fleet or another owner), the ticket goes to the owner. Your lease or rental agreement decides whether it is passed on to you. Read it.

A camera ticket is not a TLC summons, and our speed and red light camera guide explains how camera tickets relate to TLC and DMV points. If a police officer stops you instead, TLC rule §80-13(a) says TLC drivers who break traffic laws are "subject to additional fines and penalties that will be imposed by the Commission" (TLC Chapter 80).

If you get a bus lane or ACE ticket

For the short version, see can I drop off passengers in a bus lane. Definitions: ACE bus camera and busway. Other curbs are covered in taxi stand rules and the curb rules guide. More on the places hub.