Million fines every year for straying in bus lanes
CASH-STRAPPED town halls are dishing out more than a million fines a year to motorists who stray into bus lanes.
Figures today reveal bus lane cameras are increasingly lucrative for some councils desperate to plug shortfalls in their finances.
It raises fears that drivers are being excessively ‘punished’ for accidentally straying into the lanes, often because of confusing signs.
In Birmingham, the number of fines is said to have risen 25-fold in three years, with huge increases also seen in Manchester, Leicester and several London boroughs.
Across England, drivers received more than 3.4million of the penalty charge notices between 2015 and 2017 – equivalent to more than one every 30 seconds – with councils raking in an estimated £200million, the RAC said. The breakdown recovery group obtained the figures from 53 councils in a Freedom of Information request.
Evidence of the escalating crackdown on motorists by town halls comes just days after many of them imposed swingeing hikes in parking charges.
The increase in bus lane fines in Birmingham comes despite there being no change in the miles of bus lanes or number of cameras. The council insists the data is misleading and that the figure has fallen.
Simon Williams of the RAC, which is calling for a review of road signs to make them clearer, said: ‘Due to the sheer numbers of fines issued, and given that the vast majority of drivers surely do not set out to deliberately drive in a bus lane, the RAC is concerned many drivers are being punished for accidentally doing so due to confusing or inadequate signage.’
The fine is typically around £60, but can be up to £160 in London.
Julian Knight, Tory MP for Solihull, said: ‘Many drivers will be concerned that some councils – particularly Labour-run ones – are doing this to raise extra revenue.’
Sir Greg Knight, Tory MP for East Yorkshire, said it was ‘ludicrous’ that some councils operate 24-hour cameras that penalise drivers when buses have stopped running.
A Birmingham Council spokesman said: ‘Because this data is only retained for two years, the figure of 1,287 for 2015 represents the number still on our system for that year at the time the RAC submitted its request.’ He added that the actual 2015 total ‘would have been significantly higher’ and the number has fallen over the three years.
A Local Government Association spokesman said: ‘Councils make no apologies for enforcing the law to ensure the smooth running of bus services.’
‘Inadequate signage’