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D.C. transit users have long complained about cars and trucks blocking the red-painted bus lanes in downtown and other parts of the city. Those days may soon be over.

The District and Metro this week are beginning to use cameras on 140 buses to ticket motorists who drive, idle or park in bus-only lanes throughout the city. A warning period began Monday, with fines up to $200 expected to start in September.

Transportation officials said they expect the program to send a message to drivers that the city’s bus lanes are not to be used for parking, to pick up or drop off passengers, or to get ahead of other traffic.

Parked at a D.C. bus stop? New cameras could lead to a ticket in the mail.

Transit officials also hope the enforcement will speed up buses, which are subject to crawling traffic, especially during rush hour. The average speed of Metrobuses has declined 9 percent in the past 15 years to less than 10 mph, transit officials said, slowed by an explosion of delivery and ride-hailing vehicles on city streets.

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“Keeping our bus lanes and bus stop zones clear of traffic is a significant step to creating a better bus experience,” Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said in a statement. The enforcement, he said, will help keep bus riders “moving safely and reliably, while positioning Metrobus as one of the most sustainable and most cost-efficient ways to travel in DC.”

The cameras aboard Metrobuses operating in D.C. will send images of cars parked in bus lanes and at bus stops to the city for ticketing. The city will mail warnings to drivers starting this week, while fines ranging from $100 to $200 will begin Sept. 18, the District Department of Transportation said.

The enforcement strategy, known as Clear Lanes, is a partnership between Metro and DDOT to reduce the number of vehicles blocking bus lanes and bus zones — the areas around bus stops. The city has 12.7 miles of bus lanes, which are painted red and feature signs that show the times of day and the days of the week when the lane is operating as bus-only.

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Cars are generally allowed to enter bus lanes within 40 feet of an intersection or driveway to make a turn or to enter a parking space. Bus lanes are open to bikes, scooters, emergency vehicles and other transit vehicles.

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DDOT Director Everett Lott said the enforcement will ensure better accessibility at bus stops, where he said parking “even a minute” can disrupt bus operations, such as preventing a bus from being able to fully pull up to the curb to pick up riders in wheelchairs or with mobility devices.

It’s not known how much money the project could generate — none of which Metro would receive. DDOT spokesman German Vigil said the agency doesn’t have revenue estimates, adding that the “program is the first of its kind.”

The bus-lane cameras are part of a large-scale modernization and expansion of the city’s automated enforcement program, which includes the rollout of cameras that will look for violations regarding speed, red lights, stop signs and oversized vehicles. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s budget for the fiscal year starting in October projected using $578 million in expected revenue from more than 300 new automated traffic cameras, including the bus-mounted cameras, to help close a budget shortfall.

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