NEW YORK —  On his way to work Tuesday, a driver yelled his frustration out his car window about the bus lanes along Merrick Boulevard.

“One lane! It’s ridiculous!” the driver said.

But he is not alone; most other drivers had the same gripe. One woman said it doubled her commute time, and another said it had taken her about 30 minutes to travel three miles.

The city transportation department announced it will begin issuing warning for drivers caught violating bus lane restrictions. There will be a 60-day window to adjust. Then, the fines will start.

The lanes have been painted in both directions of Merrick Boulevard, from Hillside Avenue to Springfield Boulevard, since December, but enforcement is now beginning.

The 3.2-mile stretch of bus lanes along Merrick Boulevard is a part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Better Buses” initiative, with the goal to improve bus speeds. The Merrick Boulevard bus corridor, which services half a dozen routes, is the 30th in the city to use automated cameras as part of enforcement.

Bus riders say enforcement will make their commutes quicker, and bus drivers say it’ll make their job easier.

“As opposed to running immensely slow because traffic is there, it’ll help us run on time,” MTA Bus Driver John Dougherty Jr. said.

Initially, the transportation department’s plan was to enforce bus lane restrictions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but residents and local elected officials pushed back. They started a petition urging the city to change enforcement to rush hour only, since the bus lane reduced a two-lane road with heavy traffic into a one-lane road. As a result, current restrictions are in place from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Local resident Bill Baker says it still too much.

“I understand the need for a bus lane, but maybe they need to rethink when it is used and study it when school is open,” the Jamaica resident said.

Fines will start at $50 for the first violation and could get as high as $250 for repeat offenders.

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