But Allentown School District, at least initially and for the first four years of the contract, received nothing.<\/p>\n
The arrangement comes through a 60\/40 revenue split that, in practice, leans heavily toward BusPatrol. <\/p>\n
The company charges the district $85 per bus per month in technology fees \u2014 covering equipment, installation, storage and maintenance \u2014 and deducts those costs from the district\u2019s 40% share of citation revenue, not its own.<\/p>\n
The revenue sharing is spelled out in a contract that BusPatrol and the school district fought for nearly seven months to keep secret, until releasing it and revenue data to LehighValleyNews.com on Oct. 30.<\/p>\n
Besides the revenue split, BusPatrol also performs a monthly \u201ctrue-up\u201d \u2014 a reconciliation of paid fines, refunds and fees to determine how much the school district is owed after expenses. <\/p>\n
Each $300 ticket includes two fixed surcharges: $25 to the state\u2019s School Bus Safety Grant Fund and $25 to the local police department. The remaining $250 goes toward the shared arrangement between the school district and BusPatrol.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe financing model simply ensures that taxpayers don\u2019t bear the burden of implementing or operating the system,\u201d Spree said.<\/p>\n
Allentown became the first district in the Lehigh Valley to test BusPatrol\u2019s system, launching a 47-day pilot in 2020<\/a>. Two buses equipped with cameras identified 205 alleged violations in 21 locations \u2014 an average of more than two per bus per day.<\/p>\n A five-year contract followed in early 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cThe contract entry was motivated by a desire to protect students at bus stops and to take advantage of advanced stop-arm camera technology,\u201d school district solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik said.<\/p>\n BusPatrol\u2019s expansion soon reached Wilson Area, Salisbury Area, and Catasauqua Area school districts, with broader rollout in Bethlehem Area, Easton Area and beyond.<\/p>\n Though the program paused statewide in 2023, allowing lawmakers to move the appeals process from district judges to PennDOT-appointed hearing officers, things were quickly back on track.<\/p>\n By the fall of 2024, Allentown\u2019s new transportation provider began outfitting 138 buses with BusPatrol\u2019s cameras. Even with only part of the fleet active, alleged violations topped 3,000 inside a three-month period<\/a>, and the program generated nearly $640,000 in fines from motorists from September 2024 to April 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThe contract entry was motivated by a desire to protect students at bus stops and to take advantage of advanced stop-arm camera technology.”<\/p>\n Jeff Sultanik, Allentown School District solicitor<\/p>\n The police department collected $53,212 in surcharges during that time, which Police Chief Charles Roca said is recorded in the general fund and is used to support police operations.<\/p>\n The department also previously had earned more than $17,000 in revenue from the program in 2023, but reported just $574 earned for all of 2024.<\/p>\n The disclosure of those figures stemmed from a separate Right to Know request in April by LehighValleyNews.com to the police department. <\/p>\n The city initially denied the request but provided some revenue numbers following a ruling by the state Office of Open Records, saying it does not maintain the data in the level of detail sought by this news outlet.<\/p>\n In its contract with the school district, BusPatrol says it provides the district with monthly reports on the number of violation notices issued, and the number and monetary amount of fines and penalties collected each month \u2014 data it fought for months to withhold from public disclosure in another open records request by LehighValleyNews.com.<\/p>\n After rulings by the state Office of Open Records against the company, BusPatrol appealed to Lehigh County Court to keep that data secret, citing proprietary information. It ultimately withdrew its appeal and provided records this month.<\/p>\n Different standards, same company<\/p>\n While Allentown police approved 96% of citations over 13 months, other local departments were far more selective. <\/p>\n Salisbury police approved only 42% of those they reviewed. Bethlehem approved 58%; Easton, 76%; and Wilson, 72%, according to data from the respective school bus camera programs. <\/p>\n In the Easton Area School District, 1,532 out of 2,230 citations, or 69% overall, came from four consecutive blocks of Route 248 (Nazareth Road). State law stipulates traffic must stop on both sides of the multi-lane roadway due to the absence of a fixed barrier.<\/p>\n A district official told LehighValleyNews.com back in the spring they would look to see what, if anything, can be done regarding driver education and awareness, along with “engaging in continued analysis of data to determine changes to stops or rerouting of buses.”<\/p>\n Across Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, more than 19,500 citations were issued between September 2024 and October 2025.<\/p>\n Roughly half of those were paid, and about 11% were contested.<\/p>\n The disparities in citation approvals have raised questions among residents about how consistently evidence is reviewed before citations are issued, why trouble spots \u2014 areas seeing large volumes of violations \u2014 aren\u2019t addressed, and how much oversight exists once footage reaches police.<\/p>\n BusPatrol said enforcement and the decision to issue a citation rests entirely with police.<\/p>\n “While BusPatrol\u2019s cameras detect alleged violations of the school bus stopping law, they do not issue citations,\u201d Spree said. \u201cEvery alleged violation recorded by the cameras is reviewed by a trained, sworn law enforcement officer, and the determination rests with them. (As it should!)<\/p>\n “We trust that our community partners, including those in traffic enforcement, have the experience, training, and judgment to deliver safety to their respective communities as they see best fit.”<\/p>\n Chief Roca said the criteria in Allentown comes from one question: “Was there a clear violation of the vehicle code?”<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason why the disapproved violation number is so low is because a majority of the violations are so obvious,\u201d he said, noting four officers from the department\u2019s traffic unit are trained on the system, with each review of an alleged violation taking roughly one to two minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cBus Patrol conducts a review of all violations prior to sending an evidence package to the police department,\u201d Roca said.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we get the evidence package, we review the still photos that are provided and then we watch the videos showing the violations. We are provided with videos that accurately show different views of the violations. When the violation is confirmed, it is approved.\u201d<\/p>\n While police may end up with a small share of the revenue, the remaining financial arrangement adds another layer of complexity. BusPatrol\u2019s technology fees in Allentown totaled close to $94,000 over the eight months between September 2024 and April 2025, offsetting the school district\u2019s 40% share and leaving BusPatrol with about $413,000, documents show.<\/p>\n Sultanik said the school district\u2019s early revenue payments went toward repaying BusPatrol\u2019s capital investment, meaning the district received no citation revenue for years after installation.<\/p>\n Allentown began receiving net revenue for the first time this past July \u2014 about $26,000 by late October, Sultanik said.<\/p>\n He also said he was unaware of a designated district program manager to oversee the partnership between the district, police and BusPatrol \u2014 a position specified in the contract \u2014 though he said he doesn\u2019t believe such a role is necessary, as the district plays no part in approving citations or adjudicating violations.<\/p>\n Officers also must sign off on each case before a citation is issued, and the BusPatrol contract stipulates an officer’s electronic signature and badge number be included. LehighValleyNews.com found citations issued to motorists without those details, but they did include text of a sworn statement from police attesting to the validity of the citation.<\/p>\n Courtesy Victor Mazziotti<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n AlertBus.com<\/p>\n This screenshot from AlertBus, the website for violators to pay BusPatrol citations, includes wording from the state appearing to somewhat distance itself from the program. “This notice of violation was developed using data provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This is a secondary product and has not been verified or authorized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” the site reads.<\/p>\n BusPatrol\u2019s reach and recent scrutiny<\/p>\n BusPatrol\u2019s 60\/40 revenue share is fairly standard across Pennsylvania. But in Easton Area, where cameras are installed on 80 buses, the district pays $150 per bus per month in fees.<\/p>\n In Pittsburgh, BusPatrol operates cameras on 217 buses and mailed more than 10,900 citations between August 2024 and June 2025<\/a> \u2014 roughly $3.3 million in fines if all were paid.<\/p>\n Under the same split, BusPatrol\u2019s share would exceed $1.6 million, plus technology fees. The Pittsburgh Police Department would receive about $272,000 in surcharges, while the district\u2019s portion would again be offset by costs.<\/p>\n City to city, the model scales easily: more buses, more tickets, more revenue. Critics say the setup incentivizes volume over fairness.<\/p>\n Supporters and BusPatrol argue it\u2019s saving lives.<\/p>\n \u201cBeyond the exterior stop-arm cameras, BusPatrol also equips buses with interior cameras that support school district transportation operations and student safety. These investments go well beyond enforcement because BusPatrol is a mission-driven organization focused on child safety, not profit,\u201d Spree said in an email.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also cover all program operating costs, including system maintenance, violation processing, court support, postage and program management.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, BusPatrol funds public safety awareness campaigns, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars annually at no cost to the taxpayer to educate drivers, students, and families about the importance of stopping for the school bus.\u201d<\/p>\n A story from the Bucks County Courier-Times<\/a> last fall highlighted a drop in repeat offenders in some areas \u2014 a sign, police said, that drivers were becoming more aware of flashing red lights and buses loading and unloading students.<\/p>\n According to data from various school bus camera programs, recidivism among violators is under 10% in Lehigh Valley districts, with fewer violations through the 2024-25 school year.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the Lehigh Valley, the results are especially encouraging: during the back-to-school period from 2024 to 2025, Lehigh Valley school districts recorded a demonstrable reduction in violations,\u201d Spree said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese reductions demonstrate that the program is working as intended \u2014 changing driver behavior, improving awareness and making roads safer for children. BusPatrol will continue to work closely with our school district and law enforcement partners to build on this success and drive violations down even further.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the program has drawn intense scrutiny<\/a>. In Florida, a Miami Herald and Tributary investigation found BusPatrol\u2019s initial contract allowed it to keep up to 70% of revenue, reduced to 60% after two years.<\/p>\n In Miami-Dade County, the Herald reported BusPatrol cameras recorded more than 11,000 violations in two weeks<\/a>, potentially generating millions for the company. Additional reports also revealed the district failed to appropriately vet its contract<\/a> with BusPatrol, according to a report released by the district’s internal auditor.<\/p>\n The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office ultimately halted the BusPatrol program in April 2025<\/a> due to what it said were significant errors in the traffic citations triggered by the vendor, which included incorrect fee amounts and other mistakes that made it difficult for people to pay or appeal the tickets.<\/p>\n In New York, Newsday recently reported<\/a> BusPatrol offered to pay two districts up to $1 million to join the program \u2014 offers that surfaced after revelations that more than 80,000 citations had been issued<\/a> in four districts that had not authorized the program.<\/p>\n The revenue from those tickets, if paid, would be more than $20 million split between the town and BusPatrol, the report said.<\/p>\n Through it all, BusPatrol\u2019s influence has extended throughout the nation, particularly in Pennsylvania, where it’s “the designated system administrator for nearly 100 school bus stop-arm safety programs,\u201d Spree said. (BusPatrol lists 71 of those programs on its website<\/a>, totaling more than 5,000 buses equipped with its technology).<\/p>\n Records show the company has spent at least $613,833 lobbying state officials from July 2019 through September 2025 \u2014 a period that coincided with legislation authorizing and expanding the use of automated school-bus cameras.<\/p>\n This is a notice of violation alleging that driver unlawfully met or overtook a stopped school bus from the Allentown School District. Information has been concealed to protect the privacy of the registered vehicle owner. The date on the violation was Dec. 5, 2024. <\/p>\n A backlog of cases, and drivers still waiting<\/p>\n Even as money flows to BusPatrol and police departments, thousands of drivers such as Mazziotti are still waiting for their proverbial day in court.<\/p>\n BusPatrol citation hearings across Pennsylvania have become mired in extreme delays<\/a>, with vehicle owners waiting more than a year to actually get an appeal hearing.<\/p>\n PennDOT, which oversees the process, has expanded its staff from eight to 12 full-time hearing officers, plus a supervisor, to help address the ever-growing caseload.<\/p>\n The new officers are still in training, said deputy communications director Jennifer Kunch, but are expected to begin hearing cases soon.<\/p>\n Kunch said officers have already heard more than 400 cases from Lehigh Valley districts. Still, the backlog has grown from 1,013 unheard cases earlier this year to 1,461 across seven school districts.<\/p>\n School District School bus program data reviewed by LehighValleyNews.com reflected just one appeal heard this year from Allentown\u2019s share of citations \u2014 and none in Bethlehem or Easton. Wilson had one appeal heard in January.<\/p>\n Of those that reached a hearing, about 21% of drivers (35 of 165) were found not liable. Those 35 citations paid would have totaled $10,500.<\/p>\n Supporters of automated enforcement say every ticket represents a potential tragedy prevented. But the structure of the contracts \u2014 where both the vendor and police departments get cuts from each fine \u2014 continues to raise questions about transparency and oversight.<\/p>\n Sultanik said the Allentown School District\u2019s focus remains on safety and compliance with state law. He told Mazziotti in a conversation following last month’s board meeting that no children have been injured in Allentown due to drivers violating school bus safety laws.<\/p>\n The district\u2019s contract with BusPatrol runs through 2026 and automatically renews unless terminated. There\u2019s no requirement for an independent audit or public accounting of citation revenue.<\/p>\n When asked if BusPatrol would cooperate with an audit, Spree responded: \u201cWe unequivocally respect the oversight role that our government and school district partners play in administering these programs, and we will always cooperate with their processes and reviews as part of our shared commitment to transparency and safety.\u201d <\/p>\n “Something’s not right here.”<\/p>\n Victor Mazziotti, discussing the BusPatrol system in Allentown<\/p>\n In the meantime, following reporting from LehighValleyNews.com earlier this year, state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton\/Lehigh, has proposed updates to Pennsylvania\u2019s school bus camera law<\/a>, including a tiered penalty system and a plan to speed up the choked appeals system.<\/p>\n![\"Citations.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/2a7859b\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1216x306+0+0\/resize\/880x221!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2F48%2F98%2F48ff0d3a4688a5678f2ccb24a0d9%2Fcitations.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"BusPatrol](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/24b46f2\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/947x311+0+0\/resize\/880x289!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fe3%2Ffd%2Fc5c1a36a4626bb565029b05cfdb7%2Falertbus-screenshot.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Allentown](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/2342131\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/800x450+0+0\/resize\/880x495!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2F8b%2F47%2F359b74cc47d3ae9d1b6a11705db2%2Fallentowncitation.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Total # of Violations Pending Hearing, as of Nov. 3
Allentown School District
772
Bethlehem Area School District
283
Catasauqua Area School District
86
Northwestern Lehigh School District
12
Salisbury Township School District
24
Wilson Area School District
17
Easton Area School District
267<\/p>\n