One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
In Santa Monica, AI tickets are underway for cars blocking bike lanes
A woman rides a bicycle on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica in 2020. The city is making changes to ensure more bike lanes are clear of vehicles.
(
Robyn Beck
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
Santa Monica has issued about 50 tickets and several hundred warning citations since the city began using AI camera technology to help cite drivers blocking bike lanes in May, according to a city spokesperson.
Citations for the program began July 1, following a warning period for the program that ran from May 1 to June 30.
How the program works
Cameras mounted on the city’s parking enforcement vehicles automatically detect and record cars stopped or parked illegally in Santa Monica’s bike lanes. Those materials, which include video, images and other data, is then reviewed by a city parking enforcement officer before a citation is sent to the vehicle owner’s address.
Tickets are $93, according to the city’s website.
The program is powered by camera technology from San Francisco-based company Hayden AI. The company describes itself as the largest provider of mobile automated bus zone and bike lane enforcement systems in the United States.
During a 2024 pilot of the program, the city identified nearly 1,700 potential violations using two parking enforcement vehicles over a six-week period.
Sponsored message
The pilot and the current program seek to reduce collisions caused by vehicles blocking bike lanes and forcing bicyclists into active traffic lanes, according to the city.
How does this fit into the city’s bigger vision
The program is funded by local Measure K, according to a news release from Hayden AI. The 2024 city measure increased the city's take on parking facilities by 8% to help fund local road safety initiatives.
It marks the next step in Santa Monica's effort to make city streets safer. Last year, Santa Monica launched a similar program to cite drivers illegally parked in bus lanes and bus stops.
The AI programs are two of 21 mobility projects aimed at enhancing the city’s roads. Santa Monica's Vision Zero launched in 2016 with the goal to bring the number of fatal and severe injury crashes on the streets to zero by this year. In 2025, Santa Monica reported three traffic fatalities.
It's worth noting that the city of Los Angeles had a similar goal, also known as Vision Zero, that launched in 2015. L.A.'s Vision Zero fell far short of reaching zero traffic fatalities by 2025 — instead traffic fatalities outpaced homicides last year with 290 people killed on L.A. streets.
Santa Monica officials said they're believe the new initiatives will make a difference.
Sponsored message
In an email to LAist, a Santa Monica city spokesperson wrote that the program was going well and that they’ll be, “examining infraction trends closely as the program evolves, with success ultimately defined as the reduction in bike lane blockages and the maintenance of safe and comfortable streets."
How to connect with the City of Santa Monica
- Email 311@santamonica.gov
- Download the City of Santa Monica app where you can submit requests and find news and updates from the city
- Call 311 if you are in Santa Monica, or 1-866-311-7266 if you are elsewhere, to get more information or answers to questions about the city
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
