A plan to install automated cameras on school bus stop arms in Waterloo region won't be getting the go ahead this year and could start out as a pilot project instead.
A report coming to the region's committee of the whole Tuesday updates regional councillors on the progress of the program first recommended in April as a way to capture and fine violators who fail to stop for school buses.
The region faces several challenges in implementing such a program, however, mainly to do with the number of stakeholders involved and questions around how it would be funded.
In 2017, the Safer School Zones Act authorized the use of Automated School Bus Stop Arm Camera System (ASBSACS) to detect incidents where vehicles failed to stop when the school bus was stopped and the stop arm was extended.
The system consists of a device with one or more cameras installed on school buses to captures images of vehicles that fail to stop as required by law.
Similar to a red light camera, the system records data like location, time and date of the incident, in addition to taking pictures of vehicles that failed to stop.
Once images are processed and confirmed by a Provincial Offences Officer, an offence notice is generated and sent to the vehicle's owner, who would be subject to the same options in terms of paying the fine or requesting a trial in front of a Justice of the Peace.
The school boards, their transportation providers, and municipal staff would be responsible for developing the framework for implementing such a system.
But unlike the clearly-defined right of way the region has in establishing red light cameras and cameras in school zones, the role of the municipalities in implementing a school bus camera program "remains unclear."
"This mix of partners creates some challenges in establishing and defining roles and responsibilities," reads the staff report.
Regional staff also don't have enough data to determine how many incidents should be expected and where violations might be happening most.
Not having that data makes it difficult to establish how many buses might need to be equipped with cameras and that has hindered efforts to come up with cost estimates.
There's also fear the program could put a strain on the already overburdened provincial offences court system.
To alleviate that concern, the report says the province is being lobbied by municipalities to implement what's called an Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) for dealing with infractions related to all the electronic enforcement programs.
Such a system, it says, would "significantly alleviate pressure on local municipal court systems, and would result in savings for municipalities supporting these programs." But the earliest an AMPS program could be implemented is 2023.
Last year, the Ontario Traffic Council (OTC) convened a working group comprised of 12 municipalities in Ontario to develop an ASBSAC program for use across the province.
The Region of Waterloo is a participant on this team.
A number of municipalities have launched their own programs in the meantime.
In January, Mattawa installed cameras on all 19 of its school buses.
The municipality had been the target of calls for improved school bus safety ever since a boy was killed exiting a school bus in 2000, says the report.
In September 2019, the City of Ottawa Police Services added cameras to four more of its school buses, bringing the total number of school buses in their program up to six.
And last year, the Niagara Student Transportation Services (NSTS) and their bus companies commenced a pilot that saw 130 of their 542 bus fleet equipped with school bus cameras.
Peel Regional Council directed its staff to implement a full fleet rollout of an ASBSAC program for September 2021.
But staff there have had similar struggles as Waterloo region in defining the municipality's role in the program.
At last update staff there proposed a paired-down pilot on a small number of buses with the results expected to inform future and expanded deployment, says the report.
Regional staff says it will continue to work with the OTC to develop the program and will explore funding models to present to council at a later date.
