PROVIDENCE, R.I. (June 25, 2008) — In a recent vote, the state Senate and House unanimously passed a bill that will convert school buses into rolling ticket dispensers. The bill also allocated a division of the funds that would result from the convictions of those caught illegally passing school buses.

The bill was spawned by an initial meeting between some state representatives and a company called Smartbus Live, which offers the aforementioned service.

"They brought the technology to my attention," said Rep. J. Patrick O’Neil, the bill’s sponsor. "Our legal staff went through three or four drafts of the bill to make sure Smartbus was not given an unfair advantage. But I don’t know if any other companies exist that have this type of technology."

In April, STN reported on a pilot program in Syracuse, N.Y., that will use a license plate scanner developed by a company called ELSAG North America. The device, the Remington ELSAG Mobile Plate Hunter 900, consists of a three-camera system and only activates when the stop arm is extended.

According to the Rhode Island bill, school districts may enter into a contract with any company that offers this particular service. The equipment, installation and monitoring would be paid for by the company. It would also receive a majority of the fines related to the conviction of offenders.

"According to everything that Smartbus has said to me, any upstart costs or the maintenance would be borne by the company," added Rep. O’Neil.

Motorists convicted of passing a stopped bus while its red lights are flashing would receive a $300 fine and could have their license suspended for up to 30 days. Each additional violation would result in a fine of up to $500, and their license could be revoked for one year.

The revenue generated from each fine would be broken down so that 75 percent went to the vendor, 12.5 percent to the state general fund and 12.5 percent to the municipality. Although earlier in the bill it states, "Compensation to the private entity that provides such systems and related support services shall not be based on the revenue generated by the system. Compensation to the vendor of the system shall be based on the expense of the services and the equipment provided by the vendor of the system." According to Rep. O’Neil, this relates to possible additions to the base system.

"The company has different levels of the equipment, like GPS or cameras inside the school bus. But that is up to the municipality to decide, since they would have to pay for the upgrades," added Rep. O’Neil.

Read the final version of the legislation here.