Over the past two years of a Monroe County school bus safety initiative, the county has issued roughly 13,300 citations to drivers who are accused of passing stopped school buses.
And more than 8,500 of those citations were issued during the 2024-25 school year, according to figures provided by the county.
"That’s not just a number — it’s a wake-up call," Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said in a statement. "Every violation is a potential tragedy and puts the lives of innocent students at risk. This program is holding drivers accountable, while helping protect our children as they travel to and from school every day."
The county is working with a company called Bus Patrol for the safety program, which in turn collaborates with school districts.
Bus Patrol installs cameras on the stop-arms of school buses in participating districts and reviews footage of potential passing violations. It forwards the clips to the county, which can then issue a ticket to the driver. The collected fines pay for the program and equipment.
The Greece school district has participated in the program for just over one year. More than 5,200 citations were issued for passing district buses last school year, according to county data.
“It’s very alarming to see about 28 citations a day be generated through this program but it is showing a decrease from the 2023-2024 school year," David Richardson, the district's executive director for student operations, said in a statement. "Our bus drivers are seeing people stop more, so that tells me it’s working.”
Hilton, East Irondequoit, Webster, and Monroe One BOCES also participate, while the Spencerport and Pittsford school districts are set to come online soon.
The city of Rochester and the Rochester City School District are in the process of launching their own stop-arm camera program.
