Since January, more than 147,000 drivers have been hit with $100 fines and citations for stopping or entering District of Columbia bus zones and lanes.

A bus zone is defined by the D.C. Department of Transportation as “areas along the curb within 80 feet of the approach side and 20 feet of the departure side of a bus stop flag, unless otherwise signed,” while bus lanes feature road paint and signage.

DDOT and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority partnered to create the Clear Lanes Program, which mounted cameras behind the windshields of some city buses. The cameras take pictures of violators’ license plates to issue fines.

“I just want to be clear that the prohibition of driving or parking, or even just pulling over and standing in the interim, those are all things that have never been allowed. … We all know that people kind of ignored it because the likelihood of a police officer or a traffic enforcement person to be walking through at that moment was pretty low,” DDOT acting Director Sharon Kershbaum told Washington NBC affiliate WRC-TV.

The fines have had an effect, dropping from 20,000 violations per month at the start of the enforcement period to 13,000, a DDOT spokesperson told WTOP-FM.

D.C. has plans to expand the program, adding cameras to 70 more buses, reported WTOP.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.