Show Me The Money
Just stopping in the middle of a busy day to share a fun thought with you. Recently, my colleague Mark pointed out an article in the LA Times related to video surveillance. The general message in the article is regarding the use of surveillance cameras to catch (and penalize) drivers who run red lights at an intersection - or more specifically - don't stop completely at a red light. Mark took a different view of this article and calculated the revenue opportunity this particular situation creates for the city of LA. Here is what he wrote to me:
"A recent LA Times article (May 20, 2008) reported that the city of Los
Angeles issued more than 30,000 photo tickets last year at just 32
camera-equipped intersections. 80% of these were for illegal right turns. Those tickets were for $159
each. The other 20% were for running a red light. Those tickets cost
$381 each. The grand total revenue to the City of LA? $6.1 Million Dollars or $190,687 per camera!"
Brings a whole new perspective on 'return on investment'. Oh, in case you're questioning the math, here's what Mark provided in support of his assumptions:
The Math: $159 x 24000 = $3,816,000
$381 x 6000 = $2,286,000
As a side note, I know who the City of LA uses for some of their video surveillance storage...(wink)
Enjoy your day!
Just to add to the revenue earning potential theme Shereen, we have ONE bus lane monitoring camera in north west London U.K., that was being used to catch motorists committing traffic offences.
In one year alone, it raised the equivalent of US $ 1.7 million in fines!!
Strange .... but true.
Posted by Jon on November 03, 2008 at 06:37 AM MST #