I-Team: Who benefits from school bus cameras

Street corners across Providence feature signs warning drivers that cameras are watching and that running a red light means running the risk of getting a ticket.

Now, cameras are loaded on school buses, an extension of the watchful eye of law enforcement. But the only warning to drivers is small, black print located above the driver's side tire.

It's only visible to drivers after they have driven by a bus.

The company providing the cameras says the system creates a deterrent.

SmartBus Live, the company that installs and monitors cameras on school buses in six Rhode Island communities, said cameras will actually stop drivers from illegally passing a school bus.

But how can the cameras deter drivers from passing school buses, if they don't even realize they're on board?

"The language said you need to have signage on the bus. It didn't specify where the signs need to be," said Thomas O'Connor, CEO and co-founder of SmartBus Live.

"Signage is not going to be the deterrent. The deterrent is going either be tougher laws or financial penalty. That's what's going to stop motorists from passing school buses," O'Connor said.

According to state law, 75 percent of the fine from every ticket issued using a school bus camera goes directly to the company providing the service.

Since the cameras have been installed, there's been a dramatic increase in violations issued to drivers for illegally passing school buses.

In Providence alone, 6,981 tickets have been issued since the first cameras were installed in 2009. Of the $1,239,311 in fines paid as a result, SmartBus Live has received $929,483.

The total number of tickets issued in Providence for passing a school bus from 2004 to 2008 -- before the cameras were installed -- was 45.

While the cameras make it easier for police to catch motorists violating the law, the NBC 10 I-Team wanted to find out whether this was all about safety or money.

The NBC 10 I-Team obtained the service contracts between SmartBus Live and the city of Providence and the town of Johnston.

In both contracts, SmartBus Live requires regular business reviews with the towns to "consider opportunities for future improvement and revenue enhancement."

And, under its contract with Johnston, SmartBus Live can review the "viability" of each bus route and it requires at least two tickets to be generated each day by buses equipped with its cameras or else the company will put the camera on another bus route.

"We will rotate the routes. If you put a system on a route that's not getting violations, again, with our hardware costs and the fact we haven't made a dollar yet, we will move it to other routes that may have an issue. That's what we're doing," O'Connor said.

I-Team: "Is it a safety issue or is it a money issue?"

O'Connor: "It's clearly a safety issue."

I-Team: "But not the fact that you get 75 percent of everything that comes that way?"

O'Connor: "That was determined by the legislature. What is the cost reimbursement so we can provide this program to our cities and schools so they do not have to pay a dollar?"

According to O'Connor, the SmartBus Live program is provided free of charge to each participating city and town. The company covers the $10,000 to $15,000 cost to load each school bus with cameras, along with monitoring and maintenance fees.

With 31 school buses loaded with SmartBus Live cameras in Providence, the I-Team estimated that at $15,000 each, it would cost SmartBus Live about $465,000 to install the system on those buses.

As the I-Team reported earlier, the company has received almost $1 million in fines since the cameras were rolled out in 2009.

"The program is very expensive to run. And to date, working three years in Rhode Island, to date, our company has not made a dollar. Between the hardware that needs to be bought, installed, maintained, the 15 employees we have at Pavilion Avenue to operate the system, we're here to create a safety deterrent and over the long haul, yes we hope that our company will make some money," O'Connor.

O'Connor insisted that safety is the main motive for his company. He told the I-Team that if asked by cities and towns he'd consider adding more signage to the buses to warn motorists cameras are on board.

He also said the system is working across the state. He said violators get hit hard in the pocket and help spread the word.