School bus camera company used in Peabody under scrutiny after complaints

PEABODY, Mass. — Maria Scheri was startled at the number of cars speeding past her son’s school bus as it picked up and dropped off children.

“I was seeing people pass from behind the bus, I was seeing people pass from [the opposite direction],” Scheri said. “This problem is real.”

Scheri went on a mission to raise awareness for school bus safety. She created S.T.O.P. The Operator from Passing and posted a Change.org petition calling for state lawmakers to enact a school bus camera enforcement program so drivers can be ticketed and fined. Her campaign got the attention of a Virginia-based tech company, BusPatrol, which partnered with Peabody Public Schools and launched a pilot program last summer.

“If the technology is there, why wouldn’t we use it to try to help these kids?” Scheri said.

BusPatrol, which says it has cameras in nearly 30,000 school buses in 15 states, outfitted ten Peabody school buses with a series of cameras as part of a pilot program. The company says the program relies on an A.I. algorithm to detect and record vehicles passing a school bus when it’s lights and stop arm are engaged. Between Sept. 1 and Oct. 10, the company said it recorded 864 vehicles illegally passing Peabody school buses.

No one in Peabody received a ticket because there is no Massachusetts law for school bus camera enforcement. But Boston 25′s sister station, WPXI in Pittsburgh, uncovered dozens of complaints from Pennsylvania drivers who said BusPatrol cameras led to them being incorrectly ticketed and fined as much as $300.

“I think the system was designed to make money,” said Pennsylvania driver Lance Duggar. Duggar contested his traffic ticket in court and had it thrown out after the video evidence showed he broke no laws, WPXI reported.

“I might use stronger language like ‘robbing’ or ‘ripping off’ or ‘scamming,’” Dugger told WPXI.

A Pennsylvania district judge characterized BusPatrol’s program as flawed and told WPXI he’s dismissed 90% of the BusPatrol cases that have come before him.

“We find out that a lot of the times the buses aren’t putting the arm out in a timely manner. People don’t always have the right opportunity to stop or to see it,” Allegheny County Magisterial District Court Judge Jim Motznik said to WPXI.

Critics, like Dugger, characterize the BusPatrol program as a money grab for school districts. WPXI uncovered BusPatrol’s then-CEO Jean Souliere making a sales pitch to the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education in March, 2022.

“We win 99% of the cases that go to court,” Souliere said during a virtual presentation. “Pittsburgh Public Schools will get roughly $500,000 a year for every hundred buses.”

Between July and Dec. 2023, WPXI reported more than 9,000 violations were issued to Pennsylvania drivers for a total-ticket revenue of $858,559. According to WPXI, the revenue is broken down between Pittsburgh Public Schools and BusPatrol:

• $50 goes to Pennsylvania’s ‘School Bus Safety Grant Program’
• $25 goes to Pittsburgh Public School police
• Remaining revenue is split 50/50 between the school district and BusPatrol

In a statement to Boston 25, BusPatrol said it will continue to work with its “partner’s efforts to smooth over process challenges.”

“BusPatrol does not issue tickets to stop-arm violators – only our partners do. The technology creates robust evidence packages that go through a multi-layer review process before it is shared with law enforcement so that they can use their discretion to determine whether a violation of state law has occurred, similar to if they witnessed the incident on the road,” the company said.

Peabody’s superintendent said BusPatrol’s program is only intended to “collect data and raise awareness.”

“Our hope is to utilize the data to increase traffic safety in our most dangerous areas and inform the public of the dangers that occur when passing a school bus that has its stop sign extended,” said Peabody Superintendent Josh Vadala.

State Senator Michael Moore, a Democrat from Millbury, introduced a bill in 2023 that would allow Massachusetts school districts to equip buses with automated traffic enforcement cameras and fine drivers who break the law. The bill would include data protections and due process provisions, Moore said.

“There needs to human oversight of the technology,” Moore said. “I strongly advocate before that ticket is sent out, police or someone should review that a violation did occur.”

Scheri just wants drivers to be more careful around school buses.

“I want to see people stop passing the bus, that’s what I want to see. It’s unrealistic to think we can have police officers following school buses around,” Scheri said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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