Chris Orsi and Sarah Haruko are publicly challenging a $293 automated bus-lane ticket they received after their dashcam captured footage the city’s camera missed.
The couple, who live in Los Angeles, told FOX 11 they were driving east on Sixth Street on Sept. 24 when they moved into a bus lane to reach a friend’s garage entrance near Spring Street. Sarah Haruko, who was in the vehicle with Orsi, said they stopped to wait for pedestrians to clear the sidewalk and for the garage door to open before making their turn.
As they entered the garage, a Metro bus passed on their left. About a week later, the $293 citation arrived in the mail.
The city’s bus-mounted camera footage shows the bus passing the couple’s Kia, then cuts off before they complete the turn into the garage. Their dashcam, however, continues recording and shows them entering the garage seconds after the bus goes by.
That missing ending forms the core of their dispute. The couple contends the brief stop to turn into the garage was mischaracterized as illegal parking in the bus lane.
“I feel like they’re casting a wide net with their policies, and we all got caught in it, and we have to fend for ourselves,” Orsi told the station.
They filed their challenge roughly five weeks ago and were told the review process could take six to eight months, stretching well into next year.
Haruko has pointed to social media posts from other drivers sharing similar complaints about bus-lane tickets, which the couple says motivated them to speak out about their own case.
The Bus Lane Enforcement program is operated by Metro and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, using cameras supplied by Hayden AI. Actual ticketing began Feb. 17, following a warning period. Metro says a human review is supposed to occur before any citation is issued, with an LADOT traffic officer examining the camera material.
Haruko wants that human reviewer to see the full context her dashcam provides.
“Involve a human that can look at the whole context of the situation,” she said.
The financial scale of the program is significant. LADOT data shows more than 115,000 citations issued across Los Angeles in 2025, generating approximately $19.6 million in gross revenue. A first offense carries the $293 penalty that Orsi and Haruko face; repeat violations jump to $406.
The couple’s dispute comes as another LA enforcement system faces scrutiny. An investigation by L.A. Material identified more than 12,500 allegedly erroneous street-sweeping tickets issued when sweeping was not scheduled, representing roughly $910,000 in fines. LADOT said it proactively cancels mistakes and provides reimbursement instructions, though questions about thousands of apparently uncanceled citations eventually prompted an audit. The department has said it will reimburse paid tickets determined to have been issued in error.
Those findings involve a different system but contribute to broader questions about how effectively the city catches ticketing errors before drivers pay.
Orsi and Haruko’s immediate concern remains their own footage: a turn into a garage that they want reviewed in full before they are required to pay.
The California Post reached out to LADOT for comment on the couple’s case.