SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- A New Brunswick police officer recently caught a ride on a city bus to nab people using their cellphones while driving.

Constable Duane Squires of Saint John police says the initiative was modelled after a similar one carried out by York Regional Police in Ontario.

He says during his four-hour trip on the bus, he jotted down the make, model and licence plate number of the distracted driver and passed that information along to other officers on the road.

Squires says 13 drivers were issued tickets for distracted driving.

He says he spotted other distracted drivers too, but police weren't able to ticket them because of congested traffic, or they lost sight of the vehicles.

He says other bus riders were supportive of what he was doing, "and relayed their own stories of distracted drivers."

He says the force plans on continuing the approach.