Bus lane fines make £2m in one year for city council

MOTORISTS who inadvertently stray into bus lanes are lining Birmingham City Council’s pockets to the tune of £2 million a year.

Between April 2018 and March 2019 the council generated income of £2,065,000 after issuing 70,000 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for driving in bus lanes.

Across the city, most bus lanes now have CCTV cameras to identify cars that stray into them.

Drivers receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) through the post, which is £60, or reduced to £30 paid within a fortnight.

There are over 120 bus lanes across the city, with most being on Birmingham’s major A roads such as the Birchfield Road, Stratford Road, Shirley Road, Alcester Road and Hagley Road.

One bus lane in Sheepcote Street, near BrindleyPlace in the city centre, raked in thousands when it went live last September after 54 drivers blundered into it in its first 30 minutes. The figures were revealed by comparison website Comparethemarket. com which put in a Freedom of Information request to the councils of the 50 largest towns and cites in

if the UK, as well as each London borough. Outside London, Manchester and Glasgow made most money, with Birmingham coming in sixth. Dan Hutson, head of motor insurance at Comparethemarket.com, said: “It can happen to the best of us, especially if you are driving in an unfamiliar part of a city or town. “However, with cameras monitoring the roads more and more, it’s easy to get caught out. With more of us getting back on the roads, in particular for commuting into big cities, it’s important to keep the rules of the road in mind as no-one wants to end up with a fine. If you think you’ve received a fine and it’s wrong, you can always contest a penalty charge notice. However, keep in mind that if you don’t pay the fine within 14 days, the rate usually doubles.” Birmingham City Council said the money raised from the fines funded the cameras system itself and any surplus was spent on improving public transport and roads. A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “Bus lane enforcement cameras are an important tool in helping to keep the city moving but ideally there would be no need to issue penalty notices at all if motorists did not drive in bus lanes. The message couldn’t be clearer: cross the line, pay the fine.”