Drivers now have a $115 reminder that bus lanes are for buses.

Five cameras have been installed along the new express bus lanes on First and Second Avenues in Manhattan, ready to photograph the license plate of any motorist who enters the bus lane, officials said today.

The program will begin on Monday, and additional cameras will be added in upcoming months.

And in 2011, cameras will be placed in express lanes along on 34th Street in Manhattan and Fordham Road in the Bronx.

Instead of making a quick run in to the store or cutting in front of traffic, motorists are now only allowed to enter a bus lane to make the next available right turn or to expeditiously discharge or pick up passengers.

City Department of Transportation officials will view the footage and issue the $115 “notice of liability” for vehicles breaking the rules. The notice will be handled by the Department of Finance — just like parking tickets.

The M15 express, which runs along the East Side avenues, carries about 54,000 daily riders.

Officials said the fines will keep drivers out of the lanes and allow buses to speed around the city.

“The City’s 2.8 million bus riders have been held hostage for far too long by motorists who routinely block bus lanes, and these cameras will send a clear message that bus lanes are for buses only,” MTA chief Jay Walder said.

(Source: NY Post)