HIGHWAY ROBBERY
The £50M a year traffic cam
A SET of traffic cameras is on course to rake in £50million a year in fines.
About 1,500 drivers a day are being hit by seven cameras monitoring one junction, with revenue topping
£16,000 an hour – almost £200,000 every day.
New rules brought in last month mean all vehicles except buses and bicycles are banned from using Bank junction in central London.
While some signs have been installed, there are no road markings to alert drivers.
Figures show that an incredible 41,948 penalty charge notices, with a fee of £130, were issued from June 7 to July 14.
At an average of 1,498 motorists snared a day, that means the traps are taking £16,228 an hour – and
£194,740 a day.
The statistics, from a Freedom of Information request, suggest that across a year the total revenue could be as much as £50.5million.
City of London council bosses say the measure was brought in to “improve safety”.
But the Alliance of British Drivers accused the council of using motorists as a “cash cow”.
Tory MP Charlie Elphicke said: “The cameras on this junction are fleecing motorists for £200,000 a day. “Many people would say this looks like a case of revenue-raising rather than anything to do with traffic safety. “Cameras simply there to raise revenue cause big resentment and are incredibly unfair.”
The network of cameras is yards from the Bank of England. Automatic number plate recognition technology has been used to catch cars, taxis, vans, lorries and motorbikes from 7am to 7pm on weekdays. The City of London authority, which covers London’s financial district the Square Mile, said the lucrative scheme is to avoid collisions occurring. They have also said it was brought in to reduce pollution, cut bus journey times and make deliveries easier.
A spokesman said: “Our number one priority for the experimental scheme at Bank junction is to improve safety. For too long it has been one of the capital’s dangerous hot spots.” Bosses issued warnings to motorists for just a fortnight before they started handing out fines.